Broken Valentine
by Amazon Bunny
Summary: Alternate Ending up!... Life is as strong and as fragile as a spiderweb. Strong enough is the web for the spider's life to depend on, and fragile enough to be broken by gentle touch. RaineKratos
1. The Mark of the Valentine

My Magic Mirror  
(Broken Valentine)

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Amazon Bunny- AHAHAHA! You didn't think I'd come back, did you? 

Kratos- Apparently, no...

Amazon Bunny- It's cuz I was busy. BUSY!

Kratos- Uh-huh. So, how did you manage to get all the time to watch music videos, type emails to about 3 million people, and play video games all day long?

Amazon Bunny- Eheheheh...

Raine- What sinister, twisted plot are you going to throw us into now?

Amazon Bunny- Nothing, nothing...:whistles: heheh, I got this idea when I was listening to lots of really wierd songs, so of course it has to be the regular genre...Oh yeah...I have this sort of bug on my computer that makes words clumped together sometimes. Sorry bout that!

DISCLAIMER- I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

_"...And they were forevermore buried beneath the Sands of Time."_

Raine sighed and put the book down. It was so good, so hopelessly romantic, and so tragic. It had seemed so perfect at the beginning, the heroes had fiinally been able to settle down after the war, and one of them fell in love with the other. Life was destined for the happy ending, wasn't it? Tragedy struck, and the woman was stricken with a deadly disease. The hero valiantly slew many monsters to find the cure, but when he had found the cure and returned, he had found his entire village, his home, burnt down to nothing but blackened stumps and ashes. Amongst the ruins of his cottage, the charred remnants of the person he held so dear. Grieving, he left the village, vowing never to come back. Alone and depressed, he built his own little home, far, far away. One day, after many many years, he too, died, from sorrow. It was oh so sad, Raine cried as she read it, tears streaming down her cheeks.

This was one of the books she had salvaged from the fallen Tower of Mana. It was not like the other books, the other books were about the Great Kharlan War, and Mithos, the Hero. When she had found the book, it had a small mirror inside the cover. Heck, it was still there. She used it as a bookmark. The mirror was circular, very pretty, and very clean for something so ancient and had been found in a reckage. Little did she know what the mirror really was, or whom it had belonged to. All she knew was that the book was titled 'Magic Mirror'. It was actually a really strange name, for the book had nothing to do with mirrors, with an exception for the little mirror in the book.

Setting down her lemon tea, Raine stood up, stretched, and set the book up on her bookcase. Just then, the great grandfather clock chimed seven o'clock. Already? Raine thought. Time must have really flown by. It was only right after lunch that I started reading. There was a tapping on the door, and Genis' voice came from the other side, "Raine! Dinner's ready!"  
"Okay, Genis. I'll come in a minute," Raine responded. She blew out the lamp, and hurried after Genis.

Dinner was promptly served in the Sage household. Everyday, dinner was at seven fifteen sharp, and ended at seven forty-five. Raine set down a steaming platter of pescatore (Genis cooked it), and her little brother brought two bowls of miso soup.  
"So, Genis..," Raine put down her fork. "Are you planning to take up school anytime soon?" After traveling around the world, the two siblings had finally settled down back in Iselia. Several remodelling issues had occured, and now the house was quite a bit larger.  
"Why do you ask that? Of course I do!" Genis piped, taking a sip of his soup. "I want to continue my studies, too, you know."  
Raine nodded. "That's good. I want to see that you complete your education before you do anything else. By the way, you were at Lloyd's earlier, weren't you? How was it?"  
"Lloyd seems happy. You know how he is. When he opened the door he knocked down the coat rack. It tipped over, and you know..." The younger mage made a comical sound effect. "Domino effect. Colette and I had to help put things back up. Wasn't good, either...Colette kept tripping over everything."  
"Oh? And what about you?" Raine raised an eyebrow and smiled.  
"Well, uh...I didn't fall as much," he stammered.  
Raine laughed. "I knew it. You keep falling over everything anyway."  
The mage pouted. "Raine," he said with a false trembling lip. "That's not nice!"  
"Did they tell you anything about anyone else?"  
"Yeah. Regal and Presea had finally finished demolishing the exsphere mining area in Toize Mines, Zelos is the usual...Sheena's fine, and Mizuho's moved over to what was Sylvarant. I thinkColette said Mizuho's around Umacy Lake. Oh yeah, and Lloyd said Kratos and Yuan are coming back to here to check up on Lloyd. Well, not Yuan, you know...that stupid-"  
"Enough, Genis. You forget, Yuan also helped us through our great adventure," Raine admonished. Her heart thumped painfully in her ribcage. Kratos...was coming back...? Oh God, if it could beat any louder!  
"Are you finished, Raine?" Genis stood up, his finished plates in hand. "I'll take that for you if you're done."  
"Yeah, thanks, Genis."  
Her little brother took her dishes and put them in the sink. Before she could tell him not to magic the dishes cleaned, he had chanted a spell, and then-  
"Spread!"  
There was the tinkling of broken dishes, and water flooded the kitchen, sweeping the little mage and the pieces of the dishes out with him. Raine sighed. "Genis, how many times have I told you not to magic things around the house?"  
"Uh...a lot?" Genis responded feebly. "I can fix this, hang on a sec-"  
"You better not use 'Raging Mist'. Remember last time?" Raine told him.  
"I wasn't going to!" Genis argued.  
"Well, what were you going to do?"  
"Uh...Explosion..."  
"You will certainly NOT use Explosion!" Raine raged. "You are GROUNDED!"  
"I didn't use it yet!" The brother protested.  
"I'm not grounding you for going to use Explosion. I'm grounding you for flooding the kitchen. Go to your room! Now!" Raine led him out of the room, and ushered him to his room. "You're grounded for a week."  
"Awww, come on!"

Raine plopped down on her bed. Damn was it hard to clear out all the water. In the end, she was reduced to using a plain mop and bucket. Her back ached, her head hurt, hell, all of her hurt at the moment. Mopping her forehead with much aching in the arms and shoulder, she promptly fell asleep...a blue mist filling her room...

When her eyes snapped open, sunlight streamed through the curtains. "Unngh..?" She moaned. Her muscles ached dully now, and a blanket was wrapped neatly around her, sort of like a cocoon. Genis, she thought. Thank you. Slowly, as if she were swimming through syrup. Groggily, she made her bed and opened the door. Strangely, Genis was right outside it.  
"Good morning, Genis," Raine said, hiding her confusion, both at the sight of her brother outside the door, and his awestruck face.  
"Morning, Raine. Why was your door locked?" He said finally.  
What? So he hadn't been the one who wrapped the blanket? Then who...?  
"Is anything wrong, Raine?"Genis asked.  
"Nothing, nothing! I'm fine, really. Really fine!" Raine said, her words very rushed.  
"Kratos is here. He's at Lloyd's. Want to go greet him?"  
"Finesure!" The healer said, stringing two words together. "I mean, that sounds good."  
"Okay. I'll give you five minutes to get ready. Hurry up!" With one more strange look, he shut the door.  
Upon changing into her clothes, Raine noticed something very peculiar with her skin. At the nape of her neck, there was an odd symbol, sort of like a tatoo, in the shape of a broken heart with wings. Behind the heart, there was an hourglass, the sand at the top portion, with little sand at the bottom. Frantically, she rubbed at it, but it would not come off. "Dammit.." She cursed. With no choice left, she pulled on her clothes, making sure they covered the tatoo well.  
"I'm ready, Genis," Raine called down the hallway. "Let's go." From his room, the little half-elven mage scampered out to meet her. "Let's go!" He said happily.

Boots crunched loudly on the dirt ground, snapping twigs and stepping over twisted roots."Hurry up, not much longer, Raine," Genis said, much farther ahead."I wanna see Kratos again!" But of course, like any other child, he was eager to meet 'long-lost' companions."I see his house, I see his house!" He said, jumping up and sprinting towards the house, Raine following him.

Knock knock.  
"I'm coming," Dirk called to the visitors. "Hang on a second." Soon after, the door opened wide, a short dwarf grinning up at the two half-elves. "Welcome, Raine, Genis. Lloyd and the others are upstairs."  
"Thanks, Dirk!" said Genis quite enthusiastically. "Come on, Raine!" He grabbed his sister's hand and bounded up the stairs, pulling Raine along. She was able to throw a quick 'Thank you' over her shoulder, as she clambered up the stairs. Why Genis of all people would be so happy to see Kratos, she wasn't able to say.  
"About time!" Lloyd grinned as the two appeared at the top of the stairs. "Long time no see, Raine!"He, miraculously, and Colette had graduated from school the previous year.  
"Yes," Raine said, slightly panting still. Looking around the room, she noticed that Kratos was not there. She smiled awkwardly at everyone else. "You've grown, Colette," she said.  
"Thanks! Another two and a half inches," the blond angel said proudly. "According to Grandmother."  
"Wow, in a couple of years you'll be taller than I will," Raine commented. "Now if Genis will grow faster," she teased.  
Everyone laughed. "Flooded your kitchen yet, Genis?" Dirk said happily as he joined them.  
"Actually, yes," replied Raine, before Genis could reply. "Yesterday, when he was trying to wash the dishes. Then he tried to use Explosion to dry it up." She smiled wryly at her brother. "Isn't that right, Genis?"  
"Uh, yeah.." the little mage laughed nervously. "By the way, where's Kratos?"  
"He's out by Anna's grave," Colette answered. "He's paying her a visit."  
"I see."  
"I paid Regal a visit the other day," the younger elf said, smartly changing the subject.  
"How did it go?" Dirk asked. "How was the Lezareno Company, as well?" He fiddled with the tool belt around his belt.  
"He seemed fine. The Toize Mines are shut down temporarily, though. The library archive is much bigger, too. Seems they expanded the building quite a bit."  
Suddenly, Raine winced, holding her shoulder. The conversation stopped abruptly, and herf riends and family looked quickly to where the sound had come from. But the pain ceased as quickly as it had come.  
"Raine, you okay?" Colette asked. "No, of course not. You wouldn't just.." She broke off the sentence. The professor had always tried to be so strong.  
"I'm fine. I need some fresh air right now, that's all..." She stood up, slid open the door to the balcony, and shut it as she went.  
Being the good friends they all were, nobody believed her. However, they knew not to push the subject too much.

'What's wrong with me?' She thought, holding her shoulder. 'The mark..It's the mark...' Another wave of pain, and she winced again. The half-elf fell to her knees, clutching her shoulder, pulling at the mark on her skin. What was happening..? The pain intensified, like it was burning her entire body, setting it on fire. The half-elf gasped, falling to her knees with a considerably loud 'thwump'.  
"Raine?" Genis opened the door, a worried expression on his face. "Raine, are you okay?" Neither siblings noticed Kratos looking up at the balcony, distrupted from all the commotion.  
"I'm...fine, Genis. Just...give me a moment..," she gasped. "Genis, really...!"  
"Fine, fine...," the little brother closed the door. "Lloyd, I'm going to get the doctor. I'm sorry, but I'm just really worried about Raine," he said quietly.  
"Yeah, I'll go with you. You're not the only one that's worried about her!" Lloyd agreed in a low voice. "Something's definitely up."  
"I want to go too," Colette whispered, tugging on Lloyd's shoulder.  
"You should stay here with Raine, in case anything happens," Genis said softly.  
"No, Dirk and I will be enough," Kratos said, appearing at the foot of the stairs. "She'll be fine with us."  
"O-okay!" Colette agreed a little too loudly.  
The door slid open again, and Raine stumbled in. They all stopped talking immediately, and Genis, Lloyd, and Colette quickly clambered down the stairs, almost knocking Kratos out of the way.  
"Bye Dad! Bye Dad!" Lloyd threw over his shoulder.

"W-what's going on?" Raine tried to say without a falter. "Where's Lloyd going?"  
"They were just going to get everyone else to come," Kratos lied. "You know, Sheena, Zelos, Presea, Regal."  
Raine studied the angel. Obviously she knew he was lying...Damn...another wave of pain! The teacher tried not to wince, or to grab the tatoo, but the burning grew more and more insistent. She tried to concentrate on the pain, and block it out, but it failed to work. Biting hard on her lip, she told herself not to double over, not to wince...especially not in front of him...

Dear Martel...

She brushed past Kratos and Dirk, determined not to let them see the trickle of blood down her lips. Hurriedly, before they could see, Raine slid stealthily into Noishe's pen. The ancient creature whined confusedly.  
"Shhh, Noishe..." she whispered, shifting her heavy jacket.She examinedbare shoulder. "Be quiet..."  
Noishe tilted his head to one end, but remained silent.She saw Dirk move into the forest, searching for her.  
The mark had become brighter, darker, and barely, yet eerily, luminous. The hourglass seemed to have lost some sand to the bottom portion of the glass, too...  
"Raine?" Kratos appeared at the doorway. "Raine, are you in here?" His dark eyes fell on the small figure, crouched in the corner. More particularly, her shoulder.  
"Your shoulder..." He said, when words came to him. "The 'Valentine' mark? It couldn't be...!"In one move, he wasdown beside her, his eyes fixed on the mark."Tell me," he saidquickly. "Did you read the book, 'Magic Mirror'?"  
"That's the book I found in the Tower of Mana," Raine recalled. "Yes, I read it. It's a very good book, actually."  
"No!" Kratos exclaimed. "You're not supposed to read it! Or look into the mirror! How did you break the seal on the book?"  
"It was like that...it just unlocked itself when I got it. It was easy...Why? Is it enchanted or something?"  
"Enchanted! If only! The book's-" He couldn't bring himself to say. She would suffer so much from this point on...  
"It's cursed, isn't it?" She said softly. Standing up, shestood outside, looking at the sun."It's cursed, and I'm going to die, aren't I?"  
And all he could do was watch helplessly.  
All this because of a book...

* * *

Amazon Bunny- Wow, this is one of my longer chapters, ain't it? 

Kratos- You really like throwing us into hopeless romantics, don't you:glares:

Amazon Bunny- What if I do?

Raine:Grabs staff and whacks Amazon: WHY AM I SUPPOSED TO DIE?

Amazon Bunny- XP Did I say that?

Raine:turns to Kratos: All you did was stare helplessly!

Kratos- What, am I supposed remove the tatoo or something?

Raine- YES!

Kratos:pulls out laser and guaze:

Raine- ...I think I'll just wait and see what happens..

Amazon Bunny- XD anyhoo, I'm not sure I should continue "what is this thing called love" because I'm sorta stuck. Here's a poll to get you guys' opinion.

Continue "What is This Thing Called Love?"  
YES

NO

Please review and tell me! Oh, and btw, Igot some reviews :ahem: saying that the pairing of RaineKratos was too OOC...won't say any names. I hope you find this more..."In Character". >.>


	2. Weeping Willow

Magic Mirror: Broken Valentine Saga

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Amazon Bunny- Meesa baaaaaack! And I got new muses for this chapta! Let me introduce to you them! They are...GENIS! 

Genis:frolicking through the flowers: Hey Bunny, when am I gonna come back from the doctor?

Amazon Bunny- Sometime in the next decade. Anyhoo, Zelos is my second muse!

Zelos:walking around Meltokio with hunnies (absent from muse world):

Amazon Bunny- ...Zelos, wherefore art thou?

:silence:

Amazon Bunny- well, anyways...Sheena is my last muse...

Sheena:stalking zelos, stealthily hiding in trees, watching (absent from muse world):

Amazon Bunny- ...Genis, disclaimer.

Genis- Do I get paid?

Amazon Bunny- I got you nice weapons to kick mithos' ass. Be a good boy and do as I say.

Genis- Mithos is my friend, though.

Amazon Bunny- FINE! I don't own Tales of Symphonia! Btw, italics are clips of the story Raine read (Magic Mirror).

* * *

_Troy looked up at the stormy sky, hismessy auburn hair ruffling in the wind. Freya was gone, she was never coming back. He stood there for hours, staring at the clouds, wondering why the Almighty Spirit from the other side of those massive clouds had taken her away. When the clouds parted, and the storm ceased, stars glittered in the night sky, and a shooting star fell across the horizon.  
When he was little, he was always told that when a shooting star fell across the sky, it meant that a soul finally returned to where it belonged- up in the sky.  
"I bet that was you, my beloved," Troy said to himself. "She's not waiting, she's not coming back. She knows it as well as I do. Forgive me...Freya."_

"Raine!" Genis called from the edges of Iselia Forest. "Raine, we brought a doctor!"  
By the time that the trio had arrived, Kratos had encouraged the half-elf's thoughts of going home to rest, so they were absent from Dirk's home. However, Dirk came out of the home, having returned from the expedition for Raine, and told them where she was, and where Kratos was.  
"I hope I get paid more for this," the doctor grumbled.  
"Don't worry, you will," Colette told him. "Of course you will."

Back at the Sage household, Raine was sleeping peacefully in her own room, Kratos sitting on a chair by her side, half-asleep. Having burned the cursed book when she was asleep, the fumes were making him nauseaous. How a smell could travel from the depths of the forest to Iselia, he did not know.  
He was jerked out of his thoughts by a loud rapping on the door. "Raine? Kratos? It's us," Lloyd's voice called.  
"Took you long enough," Kratos said, opening the door. "Come inside."  
The elderly doctor hobbled in, cleared his throat, and pulled out his bifocals from his pocket. "Where is the patient?"  
"In here," Genis showed the doctor to Raine's room.  
"Quite a lovely little patient," the doctor said. From his medical bag, the doctor took out a stethoscope and listened to her heartbeat. "Steady and strong," he announced. "No heart problems so far." After measuring her blood pressure, eyes, ears, and everything else that a doctor usually did before diagnosing the patient, the doctor declared that Raine was actually quite fit.  
"But..but Doc!" Lloyd said. "What about all that pain she had earlier?"  
The doctor shrugged. "There's nothing I couldn't find unusual. Do you know the source of the symptom?"  
Kratos spoke up. "There was a sort of 'tatoo' thing on her neck."  
The doctor raised his eyebrows suspiciously, as if that could hardly be a source of such types of pain, but hastened to check for the sake of his paycheck. After about a minute, he straightened, with solemn eyes.  
"There are no marks on her neck," he said slowly. "Unless you think this is some sort of funny joke..."  
Colette shook her head. "Kratos saw it, so I believe him." She hurried to Raine's bedside. "It's not there, Kratos! What happened?"  
She looked up withsad eyes. "Kratos, there is no mark."  
"Impossible,"the auburn-haired mercenary snarled. "It's right there." He pointed to the half-elf's neck. Indeed, there was a mark on the Professor's neck in the shape of a broken heart with wings, complete with the hourglass.  
"I don't see it," said Genis.  
"Me neither," Lloyd agreed.  
The doctor cleared his throat. "Ahem...I'll be accepting my pay now. From the traveling expense, and the emergency call included, the total comes to two thousand and fifty gald."  
"Whaaat?" Genis' jaw went slack. "What kind of payment is that?" He dug in his wallet. "I only have fifty gald."  
"I stated two thousand and fifty, young man," the doctor said huffily.  
"I will pay you," the mercenary said. "Here's your money."  
"Thank you. I need an escort to get back to Sybak, if you don't mind," the doctor said, putting the many, many coins in his bags.  
Lloyd sighed. "I'll do it."  
"Good, good. It's good to see youngsters so devoted these days," the doctor said idly.  
"Shut it, old man."  
When the small gathering of people at the Sage household had returned home to their daily business, only Genis was left. The little mage sighed.

_Freya pulled at the scar on her neck. It was an old battle wound, from the Great Islaine Rebellion. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead, and her sides heaved for oxygen. Silver hair spilled fell over her shoulders. "What's happening?" She whispered to herself. Her clear blue eyes were half-shut with pain. The scar was crudely cut when she was held prisoner during that Islaine Rebellion. Ironically, the wound was in the shape of a broken heart with wings...  
...Troy sat in the leafy tree,the full moon shining radiantly. A little brighter, a little more eerie than usual. His mind drifted from thought to thought, from the Great Rebellion, where his dear Faithe was murdered, to the incident where he met Freya. Faithe...What a cute girl she was. She had long brown hair, bright brown eyes, and always had a sweet smile. He would never forget the day she died. Never never! It was all his fault...He was the one who killed her. Not the Islaine citizens...Her blood stained his hands, that evil, red color, when his sword ripped through her chest. His face was splattered with her blood, her life. She died soon after. _

Genis, while tending to his sister, was still a little child. When applying a warm washcloth to Raine's forehead, he noticed a small leather book by her nightstand. Her diary...  
Curiousity overtook him, and he leafed through the pages. Most of it contained the Journey of Salvation. "How boring," Genis mumbled. "'Today we went to Palmacosta'," he mimicked, irritated. "Or, 'We just reached Asgard today. It's a nice city, very comfortable area, compared to the others. It's sort of like Iselia, I guess I could say'." After flipping through most of the book, he came upon the last few pages, where there was a crude sketch of someone who looked very farmiliar. "Kratos..?" Genis wrinkled his nose. "What the heck?"  
"Genis...?" Raine whispered sleepily. Quickly, he shut the book, and laid it back where it was. Luckily, his sister's eyes were still shut. "Genis, is that you?"  
"Yeah, Raine. It's me. Raine, are you feeling any better?"  
"Yes...Where's everyone else?" Sheasked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. The pain seemed to have reduced substantially, because it was barely a whisper.  
"They went home about two hours ago," he replied. "They were all really worried about you."  
"Were they?" Raine said sleepily. "Tell them not to worry next time you see them, then."  
"Okay, Raine."  
Genis decided not to tell his sister about the marking on her neck. It might provoke her to become her 'angry sister' mode. It might also make her worried, and overly protective.  
"What time is it?"  
"It's seven fifteen."  
"Night?"  
"No. Morning."  
"Oh," Raine slumped back against her pillows. "You haven't slept at all? You should go get some sleep, Genis. I'll be fine."  
"No, I'm young. I can stay up all night."  
"Just what's that supposed to mean?" Raine joked. "Are you saying I'm old?"  
"You're not that old,"said Genis.  
"That old?"  
"I mean, you're not old at all."  
"That's good, I guess," Raine laughed. "Do as I say, Genis. Go get some sleep. You'll need it. Trust me, I was your age once."  
"Now THAT sounded like an old person," Genis grinned.  
"Do it, before I get angry."  
"Fine, fine.."

_"What are you going to do after you liberate the captives here at Henweida?" Faithe asked, laying in the grass beside Troy. The young couple were enjoying the little spare time they had underneath the coolness of a weeping willow.  
"I'll liberate the captives," Troy answered. "And after I do that, I'll come back to you, and marry you."  
"Will you?" Faithe breathed. "Oh, tell me I'm in a dream, this just so perfect!" She rolled over and caged him down. "You know what would be really perfect?" She said, her voice low and seductive. "If we could get married, and have a whole house of children. You know I love children. Oh, wouldn't that be perfect?"  
Troy didn't answer, but pressed his lips firmly against hers. Flipping her over on her back, he grinned impishly. "How about we get started on that house of children now?"  
Shielded by the willow's leaves, Faithe moaned as his lips once again touched hers, his hands removing her clothes..._

Kratos stood in front of Anna's grave, his dark eyes brimming with tears. Why did she have to go? Why couldn't he save her, why! At Iselia Human Ranch, why couldn't he have put a Key Crest on her Exsphere earlier? And now, she was laying here in the cold, dark ground, where HE should have been. He should have been laying in the ground, not her. Not her.  
Alien tears came to his eyes. Shaking his aurburn head violently, he forced himself not to cry. He would never ever cry!  
"Anna..," Kratos whispered.  
The bushes behind him rustled lightly. There was no wind that day, so it seemed odd. Perhaps it is a very big squirrel,and the thought no more of it.Until he heard a sniffle, that was.  
"Who's there?" He spun around,teeth bared, sword unsheathed.  
"It's just me!" Raine backed away."I came to pay my respects...It's the Festival of..." She didn't say it, because obviously Kratos hated the word 'dead'.Yes, it was once again the Festival ofthe Dead. It was a time when the living paid respects to the dead. Raine had a wreath offlowers in hershaking, pale hands. Lloyd, Genis, Colette, and the others were going to meet her in Mizuho,since they had already paid their respect to the deceased friends.A less brave woman would have bolted in the other direction at the vicious look Kratoshad. Everyone knew how much he hated that holiday. Not because he hated respect for the dead, but because itmade this all the more painful.However,Raine boldly walked up to the grave and gently put the wreath around the tombstone.  
"I bid you adieu," she said softly.  
"Yes," Kratos said between gritted teeth."The same to you."

"Well well well, if it isn't Super Ultra Cool Beauty! How's mybrilliant minded hunny?" Zelos greeted in Mizuho.  
"Rather fine, Zelos. I see youhaven't changed."  
"Ouch," Zelos whined. "You're always so cold."  
Not really, Raine thought.Just on the outside.  
"Raine! Don't mind him," Sheena ran up the dirt path. "It's almostsix. What took you?"  
"Nothing," theProfessor lied. "Nothing at all. Just dabbling along the way."The marking on her neck momentarily stung. Raine's forced smile faltered. "I know, let's get the girls and go to the bathhouse. I'm sure it's been a long day."  
"I'll go with you!"Zelos volunteered, making eyes at Sheena. "Voluptuous hunny..." He cooed. "Let's take a bath, shall we?"  
She shoved him off. "Hell no," she growled. "You perverted, stupid-"  
"Let's go,"Raine grabbedSheena's hand. "I'llprepare the bath. You can get the girls."

* * *

**To my reviewers-**

**Hamano Ayumi- Thank you thank you thank you! You are my bestest reviewer ever! You're the best! Email me! I hope you update 'Guardian' soon, I can't wait to read the next chapter! May your stories always be my favorites!**

**Rice8369- The ending to this story might creep you out, my friend. Thank you for your review!**

**Tenshi No Namida- Nice name! lol glad to know that you agree with me about the purists...O.O lol thanks a bunches for your review! I hope you liked this chapter!**

**DarKFaeries- lol I don't think Raine'd like it if you ripped off Kratos' head, lol. I don't mind though...lol! I hope this chapter was good! Keep on reviewing!**

**Naiana- Niiiice name! I like romance stories too! Most of the time, anyway. Except when the characters (especially the guys) cry too much. I'll make sure I contact you if I need ideas!**

* * *

Amazon Bunny- AHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cliffie!

Kratos- GRRRR...

Raine- ...:in bath: Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...

Kratos- You made me act like a stupid asshole!

Amazon Bunny- Don't worry, you'll be nicer tomorrow.

Kratos- ...

Raine- Ahahahaha, nobody answered your poll!

Amazon Bunny- Yes, guess the "what is this thing called love" will be discontinued if I don't get a petition of sorts saying for me to continue. RR everybody! Click that purple button down in the corner for help. (lol review, that means)


	3. Reminisence

Magic Mirror: Broken Valentine Saga

* * *

Amazon Bunny- Gahahahaha! I updated! 

Sheena- Eheheheheh...you can't hide from me 'jumps from tree'

Zelos- OMG 'faints'

Amazon Bunny- EHEHEHEHEH! 'ahem' Genis, disclaimer. Oh ya, stupid bug on computer takes the colon and bunches it up with the word before it like: like:this. Words may be bunched together too.

Genis- 'comes back from frolicking through flowers' Tales of Symphonia belongs to Kosuke Fujishima (I think! XD) and so does Namco. 'holds out hands' I want my money now!

Amazon Bunny- 'sigh'...always with the money...kids these days...'hands Genis 5 dollars'

Genis- YAY! XP 'spends all money on cookies' 'chomp chomp'

* * *

Raine purposely chose to make the bath herself because knowing Sheena, the bath would be thin with bubbles and lukewarm. The professor made the room a Turkish Bath, considering the heat and steam. Pink and white bubbles hovered over the surface. There was another reason to the steam- that way, she wouldn't have to see the mark on her neck.  
"Raine, we're here," Colette said cheerfully. "Wow, it's hot in here!"  
Presea stuck a toe in the water. "I agree," she said calmly, withdrawing it immediately. She slid into the bath, the cotton robe floating to the surface as the pink head was submerged instantly. It popped back up seconds later. "Deep," she choked. 

"Hey, Kratos' here!" Zelosbounced up from his pouf and ran to the door. (AN: O.O)The others look in the former Chosen's direction, and sure enough, the mercenary's sillouette was clearly shown in the ricepaper. The door slid open, and the Seraphim walked in, a surly look on his face.  
"Hey, Pops, what's up?" Lloyd greeted his father cheerfully on a not so cheerful day.  
Kratos grunted a reply.  
"Dinner's almost ready," Regal called from the kitchen.  
"Yeah, yeah! We're having food today," Genis called, popping things in and out of the freezer.  
"Wow, I would never have guessed," Lloyd said sarcastically as Kratos plunked himself in a chair against the wall. "What kind of food?"  
"Sushi as the appetizer, ramen as entree, Popcorn Shrimp Salad, fish soup, and for dessert, chocolate mousse," Zelos answered. "Sounds like the perfect dinner for a date with hunnies!"  
"Zelos,"said Regal. "While you're daydreaming, go set that 'perfect dinner for hunnies' table." He pointed to the stack of dinnerware in the cabinet.  
"Aww, so harsh," Zelos whined. "What's up with that? Can I take a friend with me?"  
"Lloyd," Regal pointed to Zelos without looking up. "Go help him, will you?"  
"Yeah yeah, fine."  
Genis looked up from preparing the salad. "Kratos, can you go get Presea and everyone else?"  
"Very well,"Kratos said, having nothing else to do.  
"Hey, hey! Tell the girls to come back soon, kay?" Zelos called from the dining hall, followed by a crash.  
"BE CAREFUL, ZELOS!" Lloyd yelped.

"Ahh, nice bath," Sheena said, robed in her "Successor" costume. She, Colette, and Presea had finished their bath, and Raine had insisted they go back to the main room for dinner. She said that she would join them soon. On their way, Colette was the first to notice Kratos on the path.  
"Kratos?" She called to the auburn haired figure. "Is everything okay?"  
"Regal asked me to get Raine," the Seraphim replied. "Dinner is almost ready." He strode on, continuing his search.  
Colette giggled. "She's in the bath!" she whispered to Sheena.  
"Let them be," Sheena advised her. "They're better off that way. Raine is pretty fierce when she's mad."

The pain grew more and more insistent. Raine almost screamed out in pain when it came back at full force. "Dammit! Just when I thought it was all over..."

_Faithe ran across the empty graveyard. Something was wrong with her, something was terribly wrong...Her heart thumped painfully in her ribcage, and she felt that with every step, it was closer to ripping itself out of her ribs. Groaning, she stumbled into the blissful curtains of the weeping willow, where she and Troy had become one step closer to having their 'house full of children'.  
"Troy, you can't leave me," she whispered. "Don't leave me..." Her eyes closed, and the curse took over. It was a curse she had recieved from the Airitale Camp. She had been forced to pour sweat day after day, until one day, the camp guard, Troy, escaped, taking her with him. But the mark she had been branded with the day she was taken to the camp flickered to life, and she had been able to keep that a secret ever since. The curse was a gem, planted on the back of her hand.  
But the curse swept through her bloodstreams, and she was transformed into something dreadfully wicked. Her pale face was twisted into a devillish smirk that was not hers; her clear blue eyes were a malevolent gray. In simpler terms, she was no longer herself, but a demon created from the Airitale Region.  
"Troy..." she whispered. _

Kratos heard Raine's moans from across the bathhouse lawn. "Raine?" he muttered. Hurrying up to the door, he found it unlocked. Pushing it open cautiously, steam billowed out, and he slid in without being noticed. The thought of Raine naked in the bath never even crossed his mind. What he saw was her bare back, half submerged in water. The curse had expanded from her neck to a small portion on her back. She whimpered, clutching the curse.  
"Don't...look at it..." she gasped. "Leave..me...alone..."  
"Raine!" Hurrying forward hastily, Kratos tripped over towels stewn across the concrete flooring, and splashed into the tub. 'Martel, kill me now,' he thought. 'Kill me now!'  
He resurfaced, spluttering, behind a crouched over Raine. "Raine, are you okay?" he coughed.  
"Go away," she wheezed."Leave me alone."  
Sorrow flickered in the mercenary's eyes. To see her suffer like this on a day like this...It reminded him of another victim of a cursed book. The curse had spread over her entire body, glowing viciously. Nobodybut her and her beloved could see the curse,until it had spread all over her body.She had been stubborn to the end, refusing the help of others, saying that she would be fine, she would make it on her own. But in the end, she succumbed to the curse, leaving behind someone she loved, the city burned down to nothing but burnt stumps and ashes.

_"Faithe!" Troy screamed. "Control yourself, don't give in!"  
The monster roared, attacking Troy without mercy. Tears fell from its face, the gem on her hand glowing luminously. Lunging at the hero, the monster made another attempt to kill him.  
"Faithe, have you really forgotten me?" Troy pondered, blocking the attack with his sword.  
"T-troy..." the monster wheezed. "K-kill...m-me..."  
"I can't!" Troy responded desperately. "There's gotta be some way to save you!"  
"K-kill me..."  
"Faithe! Don't talk like that, don't talk like that, you hear me?" Troy shook his head in a mixture of anger and sorrow. "I'll save you!"  
"Tr..oy...It's because I love you that you have to kill me. I can't control my body anymore...So if you kill me...That way, you won't be hurt. Don't you understand? Please..." Faithe said in that demonic voice. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she attacked the hero once again.  
"Augh!" Troy screamed, eyes squeezed shut, and hurled his sword through Faithe's chest cavity. Blood splattered everything nearby, coating the lovers in the red liquid. Faithe's limp body curled into a graceful arch as she fell into her lover's arms.  
"Thank you...Goodbye..." she whispered._

Dinner was a rather hostile affair between Raine and Kratos. Neither said a word to each other, Raine being too angry and ashamed of letting the mercenary see her in the bath in such a manner, and Kratos, feeling rather abashed at being a peeping tom. The food was good, and everyone else was in very good spirits. All was in order and the atmosphere was calm, until Zelos suggested uncorking several bottles of wine and having a 'real' party. Lloyd demanded that he, as a "fully-grown-up man" should be able to at least get a bottle to himself.  
"C'mon! I'm eighteen now, I can handle a bottle!" Lloyd grinned hugely.  
"I believe the legal drinking age is twenty-one," Presea said calmly. "So I think I should have some."  
"You're only twelve!"  
"I'm almost twenty-nine years old now, Lloyd."  
"How about a pop?" Genis suggested, pulling out bottles of root beer from the cooler. "Sheena has ice cream in the freezer, we can make root beer floats (AN: I've never had root beer before, but people say the floats are good)."  
"That sounds good, too," Presea said, turning to face Genis.  
When the pink-haired girl went to go get the ice cream, all the little mage could do was grin from ear to ear.  
"Say, Genis, you're looking pretty happy today," Colette said in her overly-cheerful voice.  
"Yep! Sure am," Genis said pretty happily. "Although I can't say the same for Raine." Looking to his left, the Professor was doing her best to avoid eye contact with Kratos, who sat directly across from her. Instead, she was busily engaged in a conversation with Sheena over...you guessed it, inconsiderate men.  
"God, people like Zelos...ugh..." Sheena was saying.  
"Mmm, I've seen worse...Zelos hasn't come into the bath on you, has he?" Raine replied.  
"Actually, yes. Twice," Sheena responded. "Surprisingly, both were on accident."  
"Feh," said Raine. "Men can be so unpredictable."  
Presea returned with the vanilla ice cream, and Genis proceded to make the floats. Unfortunately, Lloyd shook up the soda when nobody was looking, and it prompty exploded.  
"Holy toledo!" Lloyd screamed and ducked underneath the table. Or at least, tried to duck underneath it. The table was only several inches high, considering everyone sat on poufs instead of chairs. Sitting next to Genis, he was splattered with the soda. "Ack!"

It was after dinner, and Raine had retreated to Altamira, where she had reserved a room to herself. Genis would be staying in Mizuho with their friends. Standing by the large, arched windows, she stared out into the darkness, at a lonely circle of stones on a single island. The Otherworldly Gate...  
'Mother...' Raine thought. 'You could not give us the life you wanted us to live. You left us at the Otherworldly Gate. Why couldn't you and Father come with us?' Her eyes misted up with tears that she didn't shed, she wouldn't shed.  
It was on the journey to rejoin the two worlds of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, and the gang had stopped by Exire for a quick visit. It was all Lloyd's idea, of course, since he wanted to see what it was like on a floating city. Upon visiting the mayor of the town, Raine was warned that her mother, Virginia, lived in this isolated city.  
The brief meeting with her mother was not a pleasant memory. She was introduced to the fact that her mother had gone crazy with despair of some sort, saying that the doll in her arms was Raine, and that Genis was on the way. Raine had felt neglected, forgotten, and filled with anger and hate. How dare she forget who she was! How dare she not even recognize her brother and herself! Who the hell was she, anyway, she had thought.  
Raine drew a deep, sharp breath. The curse singed her skin, and then dulled, crouching, ready to pounce at any given time. She sighed. All because of the book, she thought. After the doctor's visit, Genis had reported the findings, and said that Kratos said there was a marking on her neck. Genis also said that nobody but the mercenary had seen the mark, which he said was very prominent, as he had described it. Why could he only see the mark..? the Professor thought. Why couldn't Genis see it? What was with his look when I opened the door the other day..? Could he see it then?  
The scholar sighed. "It will be best if I don't get too worked up over this. It can't be good for the body and mind. I was lucky at Sheena's that the pain didn't come during dinner. It would have caused a scene." She glanced at the clock. 10'o'clock. "Good night, Raine," she said softly to herself. "It'll be a better day tomorrow. I hope."

Genis Sage was a nervous wreck the next morning. It was already half-past eleven, which he was sure by then Raine would have been awake. The had agreed to meetin Palmacosta for thesecond part of the Festival- the parade.His pacing seemed to disturb his comrades immensely as well.He, Sheena, Lloyd, Presea,Zelos, and Regal had been kept behindin the local fast food joint, where Lloyd and Zelos were having a sandwich-eating contest. The score was tied, and both gentlemen were in the and Kratos had been sent to Altamira to find Raine.  
Presea sipped her orange juice silently. Sheena was baby-sitting Genis, in Kratos' place, while Regal was reading a book.

"Raine?" Colette knocked on room 119's door. "Raine, are you still in there?"  
The nice hotel lady said that there was a Raine Sage in room 119, and that she had not checked out yet. She smiled, handed them a key, and said sweetly, "I can't refuse a key toa Chosen who saved the world, now can I?"  
"Move over," Kratos commanded, after Colette had knocked on the door for the twenty-fifth time. Forcibly shoving the key into the door, it unlocked. It was neat and tidy inside the room, and there was only one occupant. She lay on the bed, and there was no movement.  
"Raine!" Colette cried, running up the bed and propping her teacher up. After listening for her breath, she screamed: "Kratos! Raine's not breathing!"

* * *

**Hamano Ayumi- XD! I emailed you, and I reviewed for your story, "Guardian". It was awesome! Update soon, and email me! GAHA! 'hoards up all the Kraine fics and explodes'**

**KraineFan- obviously my kind of person! You love Kraine fics too! Yeah, Mithos does look like a girl O.O...Lemme tell ya...**

**duDe- yeah, this story might turn into a tragedy...but it's a nice ending. I can't say any more here, so you'll have to read on, my good reviewer! Btw, thanks for the double review. **

**DarKFaeries- That's good. Nice to know Kratos' head will remain on his shoulders, lol  
Kratos- Are you saying I have no neck?  
Amazon- ...Maybe.  
Kratos- DEATH TO YOU! 'judgement'  
Amazon- 'cough' review... 'sizzle'**

**Rice8369- Yeah, certainly a lot of AnnaKratos things...First I need to get this clear. I don't like Anna, but from certain reviewers who are 'ahem'...along the lines of being purists...This is so that they don't...chew me out...for the OOCness. lol I hope this will be a happy ending, but I can't say exactly. I was going to make this a tragedy fic, but I'll try to mix some sappy love in, or like make it not tragedy or something. **

**Alouete- Um...Kratos nicer? I'll try, but I've gotten reviews saying that Kratos and Raine are too OOC (not to mention emails) and I'm trying to make them as 'in character' as possible. I'm not saying that Kratos will be a jerk, but I'm just trying to keep him pretty much like in the game. Kratos will be a lot nicer though. **

**Naiana- lol I'd really like to see the fanpic when you're done. My email address is in my profile. I'm planning on making this my longest fanfic yet...**

* * *

**To a few of my other reviewers-**

**Kaazana the Furyou Houshi- I miss your funny reviews...PLEASE REVIEW BEFORE I START CRYING...jk jk...**

**Kitten Kisses- I found your story 'Take Me Away'. I was scanning through the G-PG13 list, and I was all "WHERE IS IT" and I went to my favorites list and there it was...X3**

**Green Magicite- hey, I think I have ur email address, or is it some other user? hmmm...well, if it's who I think it is, I found Nefleim, thanks for the help!**

* * *

Amazon Bunny- I FINISHED! WHOOT!

Genis- Well done. 'looks bored'

Sheena- I have a new title, huh? "Super Babysitter of the Year".

Amazon Bunny- YEP!

Presea- ...'sips orange juice' Dis good.

Amazon Bunny- I know. 'sips apple juice' Dis better.

Presea- 'tries apple juice' Dis good too.

Genis- Are you trying to be a hillbilly?

Presea- No. Bunny said that if I wear this overall- 'points to overalls'-this straw hat-'points to straw hat'-and pretty much everything else hillbillies wear, then I have to act and talk like one too.

Genis- BUNNY!

Amazon Bunny- Yes? 'angel wings and halo' I didn't do nuthin.

Sheena- XP

Amazon Bunny- 'fleeing for my life as I run around in circles like a headless chicken'

Genis- I WILL KILL YOU! 'fire in eyes'

Amazon Bunny- REVIEW!


	4. From the Heart

Magic Mirror: Broken Valentine Saga

* * *

Amazon Bunny- KYAAAAAAAAA! I downloaded a whole lotsis of TOS MIDI FILES! They're all saved on my computer now! 

Kratos- 'says proudly' I have my own theme song.

Zelos- 'pops up from hunny watching' Me too! Me too! It's just too bad they don't have the song where Lloyd and the others fight me in the Tower of Salvation. One of my favorite songs, even though I die.

Amazon Bunny- O.O Hello...

Sheena- FINALLY! 'glomps Zelos' 'tears in eyes' How could you? You were always a pervert, but I never doubted that you were a good person when it came down to it!

Zelos- I side with the strongest! It was a simple matter of weighing Cruxis, the Renegades, and all of you.

Genis- In other words, us?

Raine- 'glances at Kratos' 'cough cough'

Presea- ...

Regal- Are we here just to take up space and make your story look long?

Amazon Bunny- ...maybe. XP

Colette- THAT'S MEAN! (aha, I actually got her to say that to Lloyd in one of them glowing patches before)

Amazon Bunny- Disclaimer anyone?

Yuan- 'magically pops up'

Everyone- O.o

Yuan- 'cough' I am interested in one of these so called 'twenty-dollar bills'...

Amazon Bunny- 'sigh' 'digs for wallet'

Yuan- Amazon Bunny does not own Tales of Symphonia. Money, please. 'holds out hand' O.O!

Amazon Bunny- KYAAAAAA! 'running away in the other direction with huge dust storm'

* * *

"Kratos!" Colette screamed. "She's not breathing!" In shock and horror, the former Chosen of Mana fell from the feathery bed, and crab walked a few feet away as quickly as she could. When reality sunk in, she got back to her feet and hurried to the lifeless body sprawled across the bed.  
Kratos fumbled in his pack for an apple gel, or whatever he could find that was of use. Only a half-used up panacea bottle and the hard shells of two lemon gels, a pineapple gel, and a miracle gel. Crap...  
"Colette, go alert the others immediately! Go!" The mercenary hurried to the bedside. "Hurry!"  
"R-right!" Colette gasped, running from the room."I'll get Zelos and Regal to go get a doctor in Meltokio!" She called over her shoulder, sprinting down the hall and slamming the door.  
Kratos cursed himself for his uselessness. Sure, there was a store three floors down...While calling the female professor's name and shaking her gently, and more violently by the shake, he tried to think of what use he could make of the panacea bottle and gel shells. A vivid, yet disturbing thought came to mind. It was crossing the line with his chivalry, but it was the only way...  
Grabbing the lemon gel shell, he stuffed it in his mouth and chewed vigourously. When they had reduced to a liquid, he hesitantly lowered his face to Raine's peaceful facade.  
_I'm sorry, Anna! _he thought. He tilted her head back and pressed his lips against hers, transferring the lemony liquid into her mouth. It was a rather strange task, he had to admit. Stroking her throat gently with two fingers, he felt her swallow reflexively, the lemon liquid trickling down her throat. Now for the miracle gel...  
As he repeated the process, he felt the woman begin to stir in his arms. But he was not quite done with the transferring of the miracle gel. When the last drop of the liquid was swallowed, large, blue eyes snapped open with the shock of something pressed against her with auburn hair..?  
"AIEEEE!" Raine screamed and shoved the mercenary off her bed and off of her. "KRATOS!" Her eyes blazed.  
"You...were unconscious," Kratos said slowly. "And I only had lemon gel and miracle gel shells on hand."  
"So? There's a shop three floors down," Raine said through narrowed eyes.  
"Well, I was afraid that there was a line, and if we had waited any longer..."  
Raine scowled. "I don't need your help," she said sturdily, the marking beginning to itch. Her hand reached up to massage the mark, but halfway up, she remembered that Kratos was in the room as well, and lowered the hand.  
"Please leave," she said stiffly. "Tell Genis and Lloyd that I will be there shortly."  
He didn't know why, but Kratos stiffened at her cold remark. "Very well," he said icily. "I will notify them of your recovery." He said, his head slightly turned to face her.  
"_Don't...go..." _Raine thought. _"Please stay here..." _But the door shut. 

_"Every time I told you to leave, my heart kept telling you to stay," Freya whispered, tears trickling down her cheeks. "And when you've finally come back to me...You leave again." She raised her face to the heavens as a gentle breeze ruffled her silver hair.  
"Faithe is up there," she whispered to herself. "She's up there, and Troy still thinks of her. He gives me this pitiful look every time he sees me, because when he sees me, it reminds him of her. He still loves her. He doesn't love me. He just can't stand being alone all this time..."  
Thinking that thought gave her an empty, hollow feeling inside.  
"I'm nothing..," Freya thought. "Troy doesn't care about me. He never...did. After all these battles, after all we went through...he still loves her." Sighing, she spread herself out on the grassy hill, blue eyes transfixed on the stars overhead, twinkling merrily.  
"When a falling star falls overhead, it means a soul has finally left to heaven. If there is a red colored shooting star, then someone very important to someone else will die soon," she said glumly. She sighed again and closed her eyes.  
Overhead, a single red shooting star fell across the sky._

The rheiard motor shut off, and Raine clumsily fell from the seat and almost tripped as she landed. "Ugh...I'm still woozy from what happened last night..."  
"Raine!" Genis ran to greet his sister. "You're here, you're here!"  
"Sorry for making you wait, Genis," said Raine, plastering a smile on her face. "Lloyd, Sheena, everyone. Thank you." All the while, she never made eye contact with the mercenary. Neither did he.  
"The parade is supposed to start at one," Regal said, checking the clock. Cacao had assured the group that the parade was something they wasn't in their best interest to miss. "It's almost 12:45."  
"That's good!" Genis ran around in circles, excited. "C'mon, let's go find a good spot to watch!"  
"Hmm, that curb is reliatively empty," Lloyd pointed out. "But seriously, Raine, are you going to be okay? I mean, after this morning, no one can be too sure about your health..."  
"My health is fine, thank you, Lloyd," Raine assured him. "I'll be fine, really." She smiled brightly, to prove her point. He just stared, and then shrugged.  
"You shouldn't strain yourself," he commented.  
"Yeah, we wouldn't want to force feed you gels," Sheena joked, though she had no clue of what happened earlier in Altamira.Raine laughed nervously. Kratos just looked away, trying his best to restrain a blush.  
"Hey, the parade's starting, the parade's starting!" Genis jumped up and down, Colette doing the same. "Wow, look at that float!"  
"Uh-huh," Zelos mocked their enthusiasm. "Say, look at that luscious hunny-kins..." His mock enthusiasm instantly evaporated as he became infatuated with half-naked girls on floats.One could also say there was a bit of a drool at the edge of his mouth.  
"Ugh, disgusting," Sheena scoffed. "You're supposed to be HOW old now..?" Of course,Tethe'alla's former Chosen was too busy oogling to reply.  
"Martel, look at the size of them hooters!"  
"Remember that there are children among us, Zelos," Regal admonished sternly. "Try to control yourself."  
Meanwhile, the crowd had jostled the companions into quite uncomfortable positions. They had all been squeezed together by the massive crowd. Genis dropped his ice cream cone on another guy's flip-flop, and Colette had been shoved into Lloyd several times. Raine and Kratos were squeezed together by the large crowd, rather uncomfortably, and there was some sort of hostile silence between them. However, Professor Sage had to admit he was very well toned, and was very warm.Kratos could say the Raine was very well...filled in...and had a mad desire to hug her. He forced himself not to think so.  
It had been a few hours already, andeveryone except Zelos, Genis, Lloyd,Colette, and Presea (suprisingly) were bored out of their minds. The parade wasjust about over, and as the last float went by, the giant crowd began to disappear. Being at thefront of the crowd, it would be awhile before the groupcould leave.  
"Hey, lady!" Someone called from thethinning crowd. "You, with the silver hair!"  
Raine looked at the direction of the voice. A rather handsome man with green tinted hair waved to her and pushed his way over to her. "You're pretty," he said, smiling the whole time. "Want to go have a drink with me?"  
"No," Raine said immediately. "Thanks." She added as an afterthought. "I'd really rather not. Thank you, though, for the offer."  
"Aww, come on," the man grabbed her wrist. By his foul breath, the Professor concluded that he was a heavy drinker, and probably already drunk. "Make this man happy, will you?" He forcefully yanked Raine toward him.  
"Let go," Kratos said coldly, stepping in front of Raine. "Before I kill you."  
"If you don't get out of my way, I'll strangle you with your own intestines," the man said, and then laughed a high pitched laugh. "You'll never stand up to someone like me."  
"Oh, really?" Kratos stood still. "Would you like to try?"  
"Mind if we pitch in?" Lloyd stepped up to the drunkard. "You'll have to go through all of us first, before you get the Professor."  
"A professor, eh?" the man's eyes widened. "That makes it all more interesting. I'd like to get to know your 'Professor' more, then."  
Kratos scowled and made a motion to unsheath his sword, finding that it wasn't there. He had left it back at Cacao's.  
"Ooh, the big man thinks he has a sword! Has he been playing 'Castle' with his wittle bitty friends?" the drunkard scoffed. "How very mature of him! This girly here doesn't need a guy like him."  
"Let go!" Raine yanked her hand out from his grasp and was just about to slap him when Zelos kicked the man where it seriously counted.  
"I don't mind guys who are surrounded by hunnies, much like myself, when the girl doesn't mind. But guys like you-" the former Chosen sneered. "Are just sick."  
"You're the one that's sick!" the drunk man screamed.  
"Oh?" Lloyd picked up the man by the collar and threw him into the street. "Where you belong," he said angrily. "In the streets."

"..Thank you," Raine muttered as they headed back to the hotel. "Everyone."  
"Nah, think nothing of it," Zelos said cheerfully. "Just give 'lil old me a little kiss and we'll call it even, mmmkay?"  
"Still as perverted as ever," said Sheena disapprovingly.  
"Not as sick as the other guy," Zelos retorted. "He seriously was sick."  
"We know," said Presea. "Men like him are disgusting."  
"Actually..." Zelos said slowly. "I don't think he WAS a man."  
Regal stopped walking. "He..She...was a woman?"  
"Yes," Zelos said disgustedly. "I noticed when I kicked him. Either he was a woman or he wasn't packing mighty heavy."  
"Ugh, TMI (too much information), TMI!" Sheena said loudly. "Thanks for telling us, now we're going to have trouble eating tonight."  
"No problemo, my voluptuous hunny."  
"Just shut up, will you!"

_The city was engulfed in flames. Freya coughed, blood spilling onto her hand. "Ugh...So..." She said those words with great effort. "The curse is finally..." Red flames danced around her, as she lay on her bed, too weak to even move. "Taking effect..." She laughed weakly, but it came out as a rasping cough. The fire consumed her, and she whispered her last words.  
"Don't die, Troy."  
__...  
Troy arrived in his hometown to find it nothing more than a wasteland of ashes and blackened stumps. Everything was dead, desolate, and empty. Feeling sick to his stomach, a bottle of elixir, said to cure the curse inflicted upon Freya, clutched in his hand. He had this feeling in his heavy heart that the elixir wasn't needed anymore. After slaying countless demons, journeying to the ends of the earth...  
There was nothing more than a burnt patch of ground remaining of his home. Walking in this darkened remain of a house, he came upon a room that used to be his own bedroom. Strangely, only the bed remained standing. And there was a sight that remained with him to his dying day. A human skeleton was sprawled carelessly across the top. It was a grotesque scene, and it sickened the hero. What scared him more was that the skeleton was what was left of Freya._

Raine sighed as she stepped into the shower. The curse had spread down to her thighs, her entire back etched with the satanic pattern. She growled as it ached dully. Stupid marking...She closed her eyes, the warm water spraying her back. His eyes...When that man had grabbed her hand earlier that day, she had seen something so close to rage, burning so fiercely in his eyes. Perhaps there was hope..? she had thought. But maybe because of the...curse...  
The Professor used a whole bottle of strawberry-scented shower gel that day, trying fruitlessly to wash off the marking to no avail.

"I really hope the Professor's okay," Colette said, fidgeting with the lining of her "Lovely Maiden"dress. "She's been in the showers for an awfully long time."  
"Maybe she's just trying to wash off that guy's fingerprints,"Zelos shrugged."I mean, come on, she IS the Professor after all."  
"The jerk," Lloyd spat angrily. "Thinking he was good enough to hit on the Professor. Makes me want to pummel him." He pounded his fist into the couch.  
"Raine is strong," Kratos said,trying to be reassuring. "I don't think she would-"  
"I know," Regal said slowly. "Kratos, you say you saw a mark on her neck? How come you can see it, and none of us can?"  
The Seraphim shrugged.  
"And this 'cursed book'?"asked Presea. "How is this related?"  
"I think I can answer that part," Genis responded. "Raine kept reading this book called 'Magic Mirror', and there was in fact a mirror right inside the cover. She started feeling funny right after finishing the book." He looked around at the transfixed eyes at him. "She told me clippets of the story, sometimes, when I asked her what was so good about the story. Seems this character named 'Freya' had the same symptoms as what Raine said..."  
"I see,"said Regal. "What happened to this 'Freya' character?"  
"I...don't know," Genis shivered.  
"Perhaps we should ask Raine about the story?" asked Sheena.  
"But if she doesn't want to answer that, what should we do?" Kratos said grumpily. "We can't just pry the information out from her when she's like this."  
"True," said Lloyd. "But the Professor will listen to you. Or Genis. Or Colette."  
Kratos' face was suddenly quite flushed.  
"Whew, it must be hot in here," Colette said cheerfully, noticing Kratos' red face and thinking it was from the dreaded summer heat. "I'll open up some of the windows."  
"Thank you," Kratos said gratefully, seizing this opportunity to act like it was it was too warm in the air conditioned room.  
"Feh," Regal coughed.  
"What's all the commotion?" Raine said, her hair damp as she entered the room. She narrowed her blue eyes suspiciously.  
"Nothing, nothing," said Sheena.  
"Doesn't seem like nothing."  
Genis sighed. "Sis...I have a question to ask you."  
"Well, I have an answer," said Raine calmly, straightening the cushion beside Genis and sitting down in it.  
"We want to know more about the book you were reading. 'Magic Mirror'," Kratos finished. "And how your situation is related to it."  
The Professor's eyes widened, and then narrowed to slits. "Nothing's wrong with me, I'm perfectly fine."  
There was an eerie silence.  
"Professor-" Lloyd began. "We don't want to see you suffer this way."  
"Please, Professor," Colette begged. "We want to help."  
"As I have said before," the Professor said stubbornly. "There's nothing wrong with me, so please don't worry." Fearing more questions would wear her down, Raine quickly left the room, leaving all the others behind.

Taking her rheiard asfar as possible, Raine decided that Fooji Mountains would be a good place to think over her current situation.After all, the air was clean and clear, it was quiet, andmonsters haddeserted the huge rockquite some time ago. It was the perfect place!  
"Alright, let's start at the beginning," Raine mumbled toherself, sitting down against a cool, large boulder.Picking up a pointed stick, she drew lines in the soft soil. "I readMagic Mirror and then all sorts of things started happening..." She drew more lines in the soil. "This curse of mine is starting to sound a lotlike Freya..."

* * *

**TO MY REVIEWERS...**

**Hamano Ayumi- AHAHAHA! I read'Guardian' and I can't wait for the next chapter!Haveyou noticed there's a new wave of Kranna fics and not enough Kraine? O.O'lives only by reading Kraine fics' Anyhoo, thanks soooooo much for your review!Email me soon (I'm checking my email)! Update 'Guardian' soon (SOOOOOOOO GOOD!), or I will die from waiting ( dramatic swoon and sad music plays XP)**

**Kitten Kisses-Did you know mycat had kittens? I know it's totally random and an out of the bluecomment, but I had to throw that in...Anyway, I hope you update 'Take Me Away' (To all those people reading my comments to other people, 'Take Me Away'is really really really really really really really really reallyreally good! I highly recommend it)!**

**Fire's Guardian- Thanks! I updated! (I always point out the obviously obvious...silly ol' me...)**

**Lisette- I think Raine is more independent now, lol I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

**Rice8369- Um...that's a real good question. I think I make Raine go through all that pain because it seems sort of...'unmanly-ish' for Kratos to go through all that sort of pain, I guess...And after all those fairy tales and stuff I read (and watched! -said in very high squeaky voice) I think that's why Raine goes through all that crap I put her through, and not Kratos. I really really want that ToS manga! Kratos going historical with Raine...can't wait! lol I don't really like Kranna fics (actually, I really don't like them), maybe it's because it see no point in a living person and a dead person getting together, or a living person thinking about nothing but a dead person..it's like...Get over it...or...suck it up already...But that makes me sound really really cold and stuff (which I hope im not, anyway).**

**ShimaGenki- Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter!**

**IBnBandgrl- lol I guess Sheena did set Kratos up! lol! Thanks, and enjoy!**

**Naiana- lol niiiiiiice review, it's funny. I hope you enjoyed this! **

**Crimsy Mi-chan- Thanks for the offer! And I hope you liked this chapter!**

**Tenshi No Namida- Are you talking about Zoids? Lena and Bit..those names sound awfully familiar...anyhow, enjoy, and thanks!**

* * *

Amazon Bunny- I FINISHED! AND PROOFREAD!

Kratos- And yet words still clump together?

Amazon Bunny- That's cuz of some bug in my computer.

Raine- 'still drawing lines in the dirt'

Kratos- Raine, darling..'sweeps Raine up bride-style' Tell me what's wrong.

Raine- I LOVE YOU!

Kratos- I LOVE YOU TOO!

Raine and Kratos- 'snogs'

Amazon Bunny- O.O 'slowly backs away' Did you all notice the relationship between the cursed book and the situation I threw Raine and Kratos into?  
The character Troy represents Kratos.  
The character Faithe represents Anna.  
The character Freya represents Raine.  
A twisted, wierd storyline, I know.

Raine and Kratos- 'snogs'

Amazon Bunny- Did you hear? I tried out for the school play (it's for all 8th grade speech classes) and I landed the 'Enchanted Gerbil' character. How fitting. The gerbil's name is Lola, and I only have 8 lines.

Raine and Kratos- 'chokes while snogging'

Amazon Bunny- XD review!


	5. Falling

Magic Mirror: Broken Valentine Saga

* * *

Amazon Bunny- Nyeh heh heh heh! I'm back! With brand new muses! 

Yuan- Martel, spare me...First I don't get paid money to do disclaimers...And now THIS!

Amazon Bunny- Aww, don't be like that...'sniffle sniffle'

Noishe- 'whine'

Amazon Bunny- Noishe is a muse BECAUSE..?

Noishe- 'growl'

Lloyd- Oh hey, Noishe, there you are.

Amazon Bunny- ...SHEESH!

Sheena- 'pops out of nowhere' You called?

Amazon Bunny- Someone just do the disclaimer...

Yuan- If you give me that twenty dollars you said...

Amazon Bunny- And if I run..?

Yuan- I have the Renegades surrounding your base. If you run, you will die.

Amazon Bunny- Money makes the world go round, don't it?

Yuan- Amazon Bunny does not own Tales of Symphonia, because if she did, it would be hell.

Amazon Bunny- For that last snippet, I'll subtract twenty dollars from your paycheck. 'shoots grappler hook at ceiling and disappears' Nyah ha ha ha!

Yuan- MY MONEY!

* * *

"Let's start at the beginning..," Raine mumbled to herself. "In the book Freya came down with some illness..." She drew lines in the dirt to represent her words. "And the symptoms are almost exactly alike. Could this be coincidence, or really a curse? And why was there a curse in the first place?" The Professor sighed and leaned back against the boulder.  
"Just imagine if I didn't have that sickness, what would I be doing...?" She muttered. When she realized what she had said, she frantically shook her head. "No! I have to concentrate on curing myself, not dwelling on what could have happened!" 

_Everything was gone in a fire. Gone in a simple blaze. His town, his home, his...Freya. All reduced to cinders. There was an inside voice for him to say that this wasn't real. This wasn't real, it was all a big joke. If you look again, everything will be just the way it was, a happy, bustling town. Freya would be running towards him, her silver hair rippling out behind her, and her curse would be cured with the elixir.  
But it wasn't to be.  
After searching for reasons why the town had been burnt down, he came upon an old book. On the cover, there was a note attached to it. Strangely, it was the only thing that had survived the fire. He read:  
"I hereby sentence this town to death...This village of sin deserves no sympathy. Housing a cursed half elven girl...Do you know what this means? The Curse of the Living Dead, a deadly, yet beautiful, way of murder. Whoever he or she touches in the last days of life will be infected with this curse, and it will spread, resulting in genocide..."  
__"Dammit!" Troy ripped apart the note, even though he had not finished reading it. "Freya, I'm sorry..." He pounded his fist into the dirt. "I promised I would save you. I promised I wouldn't make any more mistakes..."_

_Weeks had passed since the incident in the town. Troy had sought refuge in a small cabin in the forest, not far from the destroyed home. It was a horribly spent month, full of nightmares and screams and shadows of the past. Troy had somehow managed to finish eight bottles of whiskey, his eyelids drooping, the liquor taking effect.  
If only he had gotten the elixir faster..._

Raine screamed as the pain seared through her body. It was worse, much worse- from the previous. She felt terrible- pain ripping and clawing at her flesh, completely ripping apart her body. She screamed louder and louder, until she thought her lungs would collapse with exhaustion, as the pain got worse and worse. Clutching at the cursed marking, she literally tore the orange jacket off until her white shirt remained underneath.  
The curse had spread across her entire torso and had infected her arms and legs.  
"Raine!"  
The Professor was huddled against the boulder, the lines of her research completely smothered.  
"Raine!" The voices said again. "Raine, hang on!"  
Opening her fading eyes, she made out blurry figures of Genis, Kratos, Colette, and Lloyd. Using a shaking hand, she reached out for her friends, fingers trembling...  
"Help...me...," she whispered, and all went black around her.

"Is the Professor going to be okay?" Colette whispered to Genis, who was trembling outside the door. The group were huddled outside the bedroom door, at Raine and Genis' house, awaiting the news of Raine's recovery.  
"I hope she is," was Genis' small reply.  
"Relax, guys," Zelos whispered happily. "This is the Professor, after all. She won't give up without a fight."  
A small, forced smile appeared in Genis' face.  
"Zelos!" Sheena said quietly, but fiercely. "Shut up!"  
The door opened, and the doctor walked out calmly. "The patient seems to be in a calm state now. The fever is reduced, the trembling stopped, but I can't get rid of the markings on her body."  
"Body?" Kratos growled. Despite the fact that it was a doctor, and the procedure was needed, Kratos still felt inclined that he should rip out the guy's jugular and throw his carcass in the back alley for even so much as glancing at Raine's body.  
"Markings?" Genis trembled even more. "Sis!" He ran into the room, and let out a scream.

_Troy shuddered, and slumped on the edge of the bed. He was back in his hometown, the burnt, destroyed city. The remains of Freya still remained on the bed, in the same fetal position.  
"Freya...wait for me. I'm coming...for you.."  
The last bottle of whiskey he had downed contained a dose of poison. As the minutes passed, Troy felt the life being sucked out of him, until, at last, he too, perished, his hand still entwined with Freya's._

Raine's curse was totally visible to others, now, instead of just her and Kratos.  
"Raine, Raine! What's happening to you?" Genis wailed, pounding his little fists on the edge of the mattress. "Sis!"  
"Damn, if we knew this was going to happen..," Lloyd cursed. "Then...then..!"  
"There's no use getting worked up over the past. The past is past, and we cannot change it," said Presea. "What we can do now is to look for a cure for Raine's illness."  
The group was silent for a moment.  
"It's not an illness,"Kratos said weakly, unlike himself. "She's not suffering from an illness."  
"Then what is it?" Sheena demanded. "It's...it's...It has to be an illness! It can't be..." her eyes widened. Being aMizuhoan, sheimmediately figured it out."A...a curse?" she whispered. "No..."  
Kratos nodded. "I knew about it...I saw the mark...in the beginning stage. And I...failed to do anything. I didn't even...search for a cure."  
"What?" The rest of the group screamed. "You KNEW, and you didn't do anything!"  
Kratos nodded. "I'm sorry."  
"Well, gee, you think that came a bit late?" Sheena scoffed."You should say sorry to Raine and Genis!"  
"It's-"  
A loud, high-pitched scream cut Kratos off. There also seemed to be quite a ruckus outside, in Iselia. Zelos opened the door. "What's going on-" He swivled around. "Fire!" He yelled to the group. "Fire!"  
"What?" said Colette.  
"A fire! In Iselia! The town's burning!"Regal said, dashing towards the door after seeing the destruction. "There's some people still stuck. Everyone but Lloyd, Genis, and Kratos-" he signaled towards the door. "Come with me."  
As they sprinted out the door, Genis began trying to heave his sister onto his back. "Help me!" He panicked.  
"Move," Kratos commanded, and lifted the Professor into his arms. She was surprisingly light, and fit into his arms perfectly...  
"Dad! Let's move!" Lloyd called impatiently.

* * *

**To my reviewers:**

**Hamano Ayumi- Always one of the first to review! You rock! I hope you update Guardian soon, or make another one-shot...your stories are so good! What will you think of next? lol**

**Fire's Guardian- Wait and see.**

**Tenshi no Namida- I recognized the names...I used to watch Zoids, until they took it off the schedule. Thanks for the review.**

**rice8369- Thanks for the review. And for giving me the link to your site. Hey, about those ToS manga...could you scan it an put it online? Or is that copyright? Idk. But I'd really like to see them, they sound so cool!**

**Guardian Weilder- Thanks! And I will.**

**duDe- thanks! **

**Karina Gomez- thanks! I don't like Anna much either, but you can't deny that she's an important part of the story. **

* * *

Amazon Bunny- Thats all folks! Before I update this story, I plan to update "What is this thing called Love?" mmkay?

Yuan- 'back with new weapons' My name is Yuan. You stole my money. Prepare to die.

Amazon Bunny- XD

Lloyd- zzzzzzz...

Amazon Bunny- 'running out of ideas' SMOKE BOMB! 'poom!' NYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHAHAHAHA! 'runs away'

Yuan- Come back! 'cough cough'x.x

'little cloud letters'- review!


	6. Crash and Burn

Broken Valentine

* * *

Amazon Bunny- Wow, i updated! Thanks for all the reviews! 

Kratos- 'pops out from behind bushes' Ahem...we're back.

Amazon Bunny- my my my, where have YOU been?

Raine- 'comes stumbling out behind Kratos' We weren't doing anything suspicious. Zelos kicked us out and told us that the muse location moved to the waterfall scenery. 'shifty eyes'

Amazon Bunny- ...cut the cheese.

Kratos- I believe the phrase is "cut to the chase".

Amazon Bunny- No, really. 'points to block of cheese on the table' Cut the cheese. I've been waiting all this time for you to come back and cut it.

Raine and Kratos- 'falls over'

Amazon Bunny- Well?

Raine and Kratos- 'hits their head on the floor and are unconscious'

Amazon Bunny- Oh well. I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

* * *

"Dad, come on!" Lloyd panicked. "Let's get going!"  
"Right," Kratos replied, herding Genis out the door, and following him. "We don't have time to pick through your stuff!" He barked at Genis, who made a mad dash to the library to grab Raine's prized relics.  
"But Raine's-" Genis began. "These are her favorite stuff!"  
Kratos sighed. Kids these days were so stupid!The seraphim turned to Lloyd. "Here, take her," he carefully handed the Professor to his son. "Get the two out of the village. Take them to Dirk's house, Triet- anyhwere but here in this village. The smoke will suffocate her." He grabbed Genis by his collar and threw him to Lloyd. "Get moving."  
"Y-yeah...but Dad!"  
"Get moving! NOW!"  
"Y-yeah...sure..."  
He watched, his anxiety eased slightly, as the two boys ran out the door, Raine's limp frame swaying gently. "Now for those relics..." he turned to the library and grabbed the artifacts on display. Surely this would be enough, he had thought. Not all things could be saved.  
With his arms loaded, Kratos followed the complicated path out of the house, to find his exit blocked by a flaming board.  
"Damn," he cursed, turning around and running back toward the library. All around him, boards and paintings, and other things fell, fire destroying their former beauty. While finding an alternative route out of the burning building, one thing caught his eye. It was...so familiar...  
It was a picture, of the whole group- Lloyd, Genis, Colette, Sheena, Zelos, Presea, Regal, himself, and...Raine. It was taken back in Asgard, where they had taken a vacation to. Raine had always loved Asgard, the City of the Wind...  
Kratos grabbed the picture and stuffed it into his uniform. 

There was no time left. The entire house was engulfed in flames, and he couldn't find an alternative route. Was this the way he was going to perish? Forgotten, alone, unwanted?  
"I'm not going to die like this," he growled. He continued his jog, then breaking into a sprint. There was no door he could go through that wasn't covered in flames...  
Just damn this all, Kratos thought, and smashed his way through the window. Using a free hand, he hoisted himself out, the glass shards piercing his hand. Choking and coughing, he collapsed, on the outskirts of Iselia.

"He seems to be coming around."  
Someone slapped at the Seraphim's face.  
"Wake up, dude! Hey!" Another voice said. Strangely, it seemed so...distant...A bucket of ice cold water splashed his face. Kratos groaned, and tried to open his eyes. They seemed to be glued shut, but somehow the dark brown eyes opened. Towering over him were the figures of an old man and another in his mid-teens.  
"W-where's Raine? And Lloyd? Where is everyone?" Kratos croaked. "Are they okay?"  
"Hush, boy," said the wrinkled old man. "If you're looking for a bunch of kids-"  
"One of them was wearing some wierd red clothes and carrying some cute lady with silver hair and an orange jacket," the boy said. "And a little kid with silver hair and some blue clothes. Yeah, they're staying in the inn right now. Room 35 or something. They're with some other people right now-"  
"The former Chosen of Tethe'alla-"  
"Oh, and the former Chosen of Sylvarant-"  
"Regal Bryant, and that pink haired girl-"  
"Get to the point," the Seraphim growled.  
"That lady friend of theirs needs medical attention. There's a doctor with 'em, too." The old man said.  
"Yeah, yeah! She's got this glowing markings all over her body. It'sall overher neck and everything. Real scary looking thing, isn't it, Grandpa? It's awful!"  
Kratos sat up with much difficulty. "Take me to her," he demanded. "Now." The burns he sustained felt like they were tearing him apart.  
"You're not well enough to get up!" The old man said. "Stay here and rest."  
"No," the Seraphim glowered, and stood up, despite the pain. "I have to see her." He stumbled a little, and miraculously made his way out of the room and into the hall.  
"Raine...I'm coming for you..." he whispered to himself. "Hang on..." He didn't notice that from his uniform, fell the picture. Where Raine's face should have been, however, was a charred hole, burned out by the fire.

"Raine...Raine! Wake up!" pleaded Lloyd, gently shaking the Professor by the shoulders. "Wake up!"  
"The doctor's done all he's can," Zelos said glumly, returning from the hallway, where he had listened to the doctor's report. "All we can do is hope she'll pull through."  
"Don't talk like that! Of course she'll pull through. Of course she will!" Genis said indigantly, tears welling in his eyes. "She can't die, she WON'T die!" He buried his head in her sheets, pounding a fist against the matress. "She's not going to die..." He said, his voice muffled.  
"Yes, let's pray for Raine's speedy recovery," Colette said, forcing a smile on her face. "Oh Great Protector of the Giant Tree, please keep Raine safe, and..."  
"And she won't be alone in her time of need," Lloyd finished.  
"Of course she won't be alone, you idiot,"said Sheena. "We'll be with her all the way."  
"Yeah, Lloyd, what were you thinking?" Zelos added sarcastically.  
"Shut it!"  
"Quiet, you two. The least Raine needs now is you two arguing at the top of your lungs,"snapped Regal. "If you want to keep on arguing at this time, then take it outside."  
That shut them up immediately.  
"Sorry," Lloyd said softly.  
There was a silence for the next few moments, where the only sound was the soft rhythmic breathing from Raine, and sniffles emitted from Genis and an occasional "she's NOT going to die" until someone knocked on the door.  
Sheena sighed and stood up, peering out the eyehole, and then opening the door to let the person in.  
"I have brought the towel," Presea said, holding up the damp cloth and then laying it across Raine's hot forehead."Her fever should go down a little now." Her eyes traveled to the Professor's neck. "What's that?"  
"What's what?" said Colette curiously. She looked to where Presea pointed. "The...what _is _that?"  
Across her neck was a spindly marking retreating along her skin at an alarming rate. The blonde angel folded her collar down to reveal her neck. At the sight, she gave a small shriek and toppled backwards onto Lloyd and the drawer.  
The marking glowed ominously, in the shape of a broken heart with wings, an hourglass behind it. However, the sand at the upper portion was nearly spent, the bit that was leftover enough to cover the eye of a needle.  
And all they could do was watch helplessly as the last bit of sand fell into the bottom chamber.

He didn't know how he did it, but Kratos managed to stumble down the hallway, coming face to face with Lloyd.  
"Lloyd..!"  
"Dad! I was just looking for you...! Dad..." Lloyd said, surprised his father was up and running about in his condition. "Dad...something happened earlier...Something..." he broke off, a frightened look in his eyes. The expression Kratos had was enough to scare even Yggdrasill, if he was still 'alive'.  
"Where's the others?" Kratos asked sharply- a little too sharp, because Lloyd jumped at the words. "Where's Raine?"  
"Dad...That's what I wanted to tell you..." said Lloyd, his voice cracking, getting higher and higher pitched as he continued. "We got her out of the building alright, she was fine...But...but... the curse...We saw it, it was actually there-"  
"And?" the Seraphim felt his heart plummet. "What happened?"  
"And...and...Dad...She didn't make it." At those words, he broke down. "She didn't make it, Dad. She's dead."

* * *

**To my reviewers:**

**Hamano Ayumi- 'squeals and falls over' You reviewed! Don't worry, I don't mind if you're not the first to review! 'hugs' You haven't updated yet! GAH! update update update! before I explode!**

**Raine's Tears- Thank you thank you thank you!**

**Cathree- lol I've updated.**

**duDe- Thanks!**

**A Fading Shadow- Wow! Thank you very much!**

**Karina Gomez- lol thanks**

**Miss Raine Sage- Thanks! oh, and nice to know that you've joined the KratosRaine forum! **

* * *

Amazon Bunny- I'm soooo sorry this chapter is so short, and I promised to update "What is this thing called Love" but I didn't! GAH! 'gets hit by flying boulders' 

Kratos- you should be!

Raine- yeah!

Amazon Bunny- look, cheesecake!

Kratos and Raine- WHERE!

Raine- I love cheesecake!

Kratos- I love you!

Raine- Me too! 'soap opera scene'

Amazon Bunny- Nyahahahahahaha! 'runs away'


	7. Live and Die

Broken Valentine

* * *

Amazon Bunny- Welcome to "Broken Valentine: My Magic Mirror". You've read far enough to reach the last chapter! 

Zelos- I'm taking Kratos' place right now, he's still crying his eyes out over the last chapter!

Amazon Bunny- Oh, spare me...

Zelos- Well, my little hunny bunny...

Amazon Bunny- Sheena wouldn't be too happy to hear that now would she?

Zelos- You see, violent demonic banshee isn't here right now...

Sheena- WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?

Zelos- 'runs away' Amazon Bunny does not own Tales of Symphonia!

* * *

"And?" the Seraphim felt his heart plummet. "What happened?"  
"And...and...Dad...She didn't make it." At those words, he broke down. "She didn't make it, Dad. She's dead."  
There was a brief, strangled silence, where Kratos could hear his own head buzzing. At first, the news didn't register. "D-dead?" He whispered, eyes wide. The Seraphim laughed nervously and sunk to the ground, his head in his hands."She can't be...She _can't _be...It's impossible..."  
"Dad..." Lloyd tried to say comfortingly. "Dad..." It pained him terribly to see his father- his unshakable, unbreakable father- like this.  
Kratos didn't hear him. He was still muttering tohimself. "She can't be...She can't be..." At last, he looked up, his eyes brimming with tears. "Lloyd...she's not...Raine's not..?" He couldn't say the word'dead'.  
His son didn't answer, and the horrible truth sunk in.  
"Dad, follow me..."  
"Damn it...first Anna...now you, Raine..." the auburn haired angel hissed. 

At the door, Lloyd pressed his ear against the wood surface and listened. "It's quiet," he whispered. "Are you ready, Dad?"  
Kratos only shuddered.  
The door creaked open. 'Quiet' was an understatement, however- The gang was crowded around the bed, Regal leaning against the vanity, one hand over his head, shielding his eyes and rubbing his temples, as if he had a headache. Zelos was holding a sobbing Sheena, his head on top of hers. Traces of tears was visible on his cheeks, while Sheena's head was smothered in his pink attire. On the other side of the room, Presea was staring out the window, her reflection clearly showed that she was on the brink of tears. Colette, on the other hand, was crying into her hands, strands of her blonde hair over her face. But the others' grief was nothing compared to Genis'- he was crying uncontrollably into the bedsheets, one hand grasping the sheets hard enough to rip holes into them, the other pounding the mattress, his face buried in Raine's orange jacket.  
They didn't seem to see Kratos or Lloyd- They were in their own little world of pain. However, that worked well for Kratos- He didn't want their sympathy. The Seraphim walked trance-like to the bed; Raine looked both beautiful and ghastly at the same time. Her silver hair framed her face, spreading out against the pillow. Her blue eyes were closed, never to open again to see the shining sun. Her skin was pale-too pale- Kratos thought.  
"Raine..." he whispered, falling to his knees against the bed. "Oh Raine, I'm so sorry..." He bowed his head, one hand grasping her's. It was cold and stiff. Tears streamed down his face now. Memories flooded his mind...

_"Raine!" Genis pouted, tugging on his sister's hand. "How come YOU had to cook today?"  
"Because Lloyd-" the Professor jerked her hand over her shoulder at the unconscious boy, "-was...practicing...with his sword skills earlier today and threw his sword up into the air and the hilt hit his head. Now he's unconscious. And Colette was running around in circles after Lloyd hit himself in the head and tripped...now she's unconscious too..." She paused. "And Kratos cooked yesterday-"  
Kratos' listened intently, feigning sleep. Her conversations with Genis were always amusing.  
"What about me?" Genis complained. "I don't want to have to eat your cooking again! Remember last time, what happened? Lloyd was over at our house and you thought it'd be nice if you cooked, and then Lloyd was stupid enough to try some of your beef stew-"  
__"That was because you thought it would be funny to put some of Dirk's sweaty socks in it!"  
"No, that was his Dwarven Potluck Surprise!"  
SMACK.  
The mercenary opened his eyes just a bit. Evidently, Raine had been tired of Genis' accusations and smacked him across the face. Now there were three unconscious party members. Raine sat alone, fuming, and stirring the substance in the pot.  
"You know that now we'll have a harder time if a monster appears on our campsite," said Kratos, no longer trying to pretend sleep.  
"Hmm, well I wouldn't count on it," Raine said, continuing to stir the pot, which now a grey smoke began to billow from. She peered curiously into the pot."Well, now, that's strange..."  
Kratos joined her, and looked into the pot and his characteristic "..."  
What had become of her cooking was a complete mystery. What was supposed to be spaghetti turned out to be a blackened, tangled mess at the base of the cast-iron pot.  
"How about I cook instead...?" Kratos volunteered slowly.  
"Well, alright," sighed Raine. "Considering my cooking is no good."  
"It's...okay. It's got remarkable texture and flavor..."_

The Seraphim was shook out of his memory when he heard Regal mutter that he could be found in the lobby. Following Regal's absence, the rest of the group began to leave later on; Zelos and Sheena, who said they would be in the park, where Sheena could get some fresh air; Lloyd and Colette very much later, to join Zelos and Sheena; and finally Presea, who thought Genis needed some alone time. So, all that was left in the end was Genis and Kratos.  
It was totally quiet, except forthe young mage's occasional sniffles.  
"Genis...I'm sorry," Kratos said gently,sitting up, but not letting go of his beloved's hand.  
"No...It's not your fault," replied Genis softly, not looking up. "It's mine...I let her read the book...It's all my fault..."  
"It is no one's fault," the 4000-year old angel admonished softly, "but the cursed book. If it is what caused her this suffering, then let us be rid of it. I am sure that Raine would want no one else to suffer the way she did."  
"I will destroy it," Genis sniffed. "I'll destroy it...I'll make sure no one else will read it!"  
"You will not be alone," said Kratos. "I will help you."  
"Thank you..."  
There was a silence, where they remembered Raine, and her passion, her courage.  
"What I wonder," Genis finally said. "Is why I never thought to destroy it at first...until...now..."  
"We cannot dwell on the past, Genis," said Kratos, lifting Raine into his arms. "For now, we will find a place where we can put Raine. Then we will find a way to destroy the book."  
"Yes," the mage agreed.

When Raine was safely resting in Zelos' guest room (Zelos had volunteered it), the two headed back to Iselia, which was now nothing more than ashes and stumps. Genis lead the way back to his remnants of a home.  
"The library should have been here," he said, standing in the middle of a dark rectangle, with downcast eyes. "It was Raine's favorite room."  
"I would imagine so," said Kratos softly, his eyes watering. Determined not to let Genis see them, he concentrated on shifting aside the ashes to find the book. His eyes slid out of focus, as another memory came into mind...

_It was yet another fight. This time, with several thieves and a witch. They had taken two of the thieves and the witch down, and now only one of the villains was left.Lloyd and Colette seemed pretty much unhurt, slashingaway, Raine in the back casting healing magic. Kratos had a gash across his forehead from one thief who had useda thick stick on the ground as a means to defend himself, and thrown it atthe mercenary's head.  
"Are you ready?" Kratos shouted, ready to issue a unison attack upon a thief (before Raine could cast First Aid). "Super Lightning Blade!"  
"Photon!" Raine cried, raising her staff.  
"Whirlwind Rush!" said Colette, slicing the thief with her chakrams.  
"Raining Tiger Blade!" Lloyd called, slashing the enemy.  
Now for the combo attack, Kratos thought. Surely, Raine and I would be able to use Plasma Blade...  
"Follow it off!" shouted the mercenary. His eyes met hers, they were ready...  
"Photon Blast!"  
Too late. Colette had thought she was going to finish off the thief, and had attacked the foe with a mighty swing of her chakram.When she noticed Kratos and Raine's surprised expression, she raised her eyebrows. Raine had already cast Photon, ready for Kratos to fuse his powers with it, before the blonde had used it for Photon Blast. "Whoops," she apologized. "I'm sorry, Kratos. I thought I was going to do the combo this time. I'm sorry."  
"It's okay, Colette," Kratos shrugged, feeling annoyed.  
Lloyd gave the thief a final slash and came to join them.  
"Hey," he said in mock anger. "While you guys are over here having a nice little chat, you forgot that the thief hadn't died yet!"  
"Sorry, Lloyd!" said Colette."Hey,Kratos, that gash on your forehead looks prettynasty."  
"Oh...I'll fix it later," said Kratos hastily. "For now, it's best if we head for the House of Salvation- we're not far away. If we hurry, we can make it there right before sunset." He could feel Raine staring at the back of his head.  
Later that day, when the group was safely resting inside the House of Salvation, Raine was polishing her staff, before Lloyd had decided to wander around the lower level, accompanied by Colette, Genis, and Sheena, the newest member of the party. After telling them not to leave the area as they descended down the stairs at break-neck speed, Raine turned to Kratos. He was sitting on one of the beds.  
Kratos had spread out in front of him a roll of gauze, some medicinal herbs, and an apple gel. It was obvious he had run out of magic and was resorting to crude healing methods. Of course he didn't want to bother Raine and say "can you heal me", so he left her alone.  
"Here, put that stuff away," Raine said, sitting on the edge of the bed, raising her hands. "I'll heal you."  
She placed one hand on his forehead, on the gash, and the other by his cheek, to hold him still. He flinched as her hand met the wound.  
"Sit still," she said softly. "This will only hurt for a little bit." She closed her eyes. "First Aid," she said, and removed her hands.  
For one fleeting moment, before he chased the thoughts away, Kratos had wished she had left her hands there. His eyes darted from her serene face to her hands (now in her lap) and to the wall.  
"Thank you," he murmurred.  
"No problem," she said, before turning back to her staff. Now he was the one staring at the back of her head._

"Kratos! HEY KRATOS!" Genis was practically screaming inthe Seraphim'sear. Kratos jumped, and realized what was happening. He was also shifting ashes mindlessly- he could have already passed the book and not noticed! "Sorry to wake you from your La-La Land,"Genis said irritably, once he had gottenthe angel'sattention. "But I found something. It's stuck, and I need your help."  
"Yes...of course," Kratos stood up, brushed himself off, and followed the mage. Indeed, there was a strange-looking object sticking out from it's ashy grave. "Is that it?"  
Genis nodded. "Yup, that's it."  
Kratos squatted down and tried to pull the strange object out. It was lodged in something, he thought. Setting his teeth, he gave one last, final pull, and the object came out.The Seraphim landed on his back, holding the once-stuck item in his hands.  
"That's it! That's the book!" Genis screeched, pointing at Kratos' chest. "That's it!"  
Kratos held it up.  
Jackpot.  
He now held in his hands _Magic Mirror_.

* * *

**duDe- Thanks for the review! lol I updated...not as long as I wanted it, but still...the rest will come!**

**Great Beaver- It's longer, now, lol Thanks for the review!**

**Cherry Grove- Wow! Thanks for the review! I appreciate it!**

**Karina Gomez- Thanks for the review! lol Good to know you remembered my story, lol**

**Cathree- lol you and I are the same; we both hate opera, lol I heard too much bad opera from mediocre singers...**

**A Fading Shadow- thanks for the cookies! runs off with cookies**

**Raine's Tears- Erm...I hope this has enough pain and torture stuff, lol ignore me if I mis-interpreted your review, lol**

**Vocal-sama- Thanks for the review! You rock, too!**

**Miss Raine Sage- Thanks! lol You have fun at school; it's good for you! 'gets shot by anti-school people'**

**Hamano Ayumi- thanks for the review! And don't abandon your story! I'd like to see some more one-shots, too, now that you mention it...They're so cute! Oh, and see you on the forums! Hey, you're on right now, lol **

**SPECIAL THANKS:  
Rice: You're an awesome president! KratosRaine forever!  
To everyone back at the forums: You guys rock! Thank you all, you're like a big family to me, you've given me inspirations and encouraged me to continue this story! Ice Cream! Thanks for all the tips for TOS and all the help you've given me for anything else I forgot to mention...I love you all!**

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Amazon Bunny- That concludes Broken Valentine: Chapter 7! I hope this was angsty enough or flashback-ish enough for you all!

Zelos- Man, that was sad...

Sheena- 'bursts into tears'

Zelos- There, there, my voluptuous hunny...Don't cry...

Sheena- But...Raine...died! And who knows what that...that...MANIAC...will do to the rest of us!

Amazon Bunny- 'whistles' Hmm? What? I don't plan to do anything mean to anyone else except one or two of you...

Sheena- 'cries'

Zelos- HELL PYRE!

Amazon Bunny- 'runs in circles as flames errupt all around' REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!


	8. Broken

Broken Valentine

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Amazon Bunny- I lied. Not last chapter...I might have a lot more to come! 

Zelos- Psh...You and your lies...

Sheena- She only says stuff like that because she can't think of anything to write.

Amazon Bunny- SHUT UP! It's 2:10 AM! Of course my brain should be shutting off by now!

Sheena- Whatever...You're just doing this because you got in trouble earlier...

Zelos- And you got kicked off the computer...

Sheena- And yelled at...

Amazon Bunny- SHUT UP! I don't own Tales of Symphonia! 'cries'

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"We've gotten it, Genis," whispered Kratos. "We found it."  
It was strange, since he had burned the book earlier, to find it in one piece, as if nothing had happened to it.  
"Stand back, Kratos," the half-elf said, holding up his kendama. "I'll take care of this..." With that said, Kratos left the book on the ground and stepped aside. "Burn...Erruption!"  
For a fleeting moment, it seemed his spell had worked- the 'Magic Mirror' crumpled and became a pile of ash. However, after a few moments, there was a blinding flash, and the book was back in one piece. Soon, Genis was summoning up every spell he knew.  
"Drown! Tidal Wave!..Explosion! Raging Mist! Ground Dasher! Dammit! I call upon thee in the land of the dead, to unleash thy fury of judgement...Indignation!"  
However, the little mage's spells had absolutely no effect.  
"Damn..," Genis panted, sinking to his knees, panting."Not even a scratch..."  
"Here,"Kratos said and tossed Genis a Pineapple Gel. "Perhaps the way to destroy the book is not by force. We need to consider our options."  
"What other options do we have?"the silver haired boy flared. "It's not like we can just say 'O Great Magic Mirror, please go away and bring back my dear, departed sister'! Or pitch it off a cliff into the sea and hope no one finds it...or...or..!" Tears welled in his eyes. "We have to destroy it! For Raine's sake!"  
"I know," the Seraph said bitterly. "Damn it, I know! If there's a way, we'll find it. But it's getting dark. For now, I'll keep this-" he scooped up the book and stuffed it in his pack. "-and I'll drop you back off at Dirk's. It's too late for you to be flying all the way out to Altamira," he said grudgingly, seeing the look on Genis' face. "You're going to Dirk's."  
"Oh yeah? And who are you to be lecturing me on this?"  
"Would you rather me leave you here?"  
"...Grrrr..."  
"It's settled then." Kratos grabbed Genis by the back of his shirt and flew (with his angel wings) to Dirk's.  
"Genis!" The lights turned on inside the house. "How nice to see you! And Kratos! It's been a while. What are you doing out in the forest this late at night? The monsters may have disappeared, but nowadays, bandits plague the forest."  
"Dirk," Kratos said slowly. "I need you to take care of Genis for tonight, if you will. It's late, and he's too young to fly out to Altamira at this time of night."  
"That's fine, no problem," the dwarf said helpfully. "I'll watch this little tyke-"  
"Hey!" Genis complained.  
"-for tonight. Then I'll drop him off wherever he needs to go tomorrow."  
"Thank you, Dirk." 

The wind ruffled his already-messy auburn hair as he flew to the Great Tree of Yggdrassil. It was still a miniature tree, but he could tell it had grown quite a bit since it had sprouted. He stood, watching the tree, his eyes glazed with unshed tears_.  
"I suppose you know where Balacruf Masoleum is, Mister-I-Know-Everything?" Lloyd turned grumpily to Genis. Earlier,the little mage had laughed at the Eternal Swordsman's meager test scores at the Palmacosta Academy. Of course, when your score was 400, and another was 25, it was rather hard to control yourself.  
The group had just finished deciphering the ancient tablet in Asgard, and were spending the night in the House of Salvation. Lloyd sat on the edge of one bed, the one with the dark blue plaid coverlet, and Colette sat on the edge. Genis sat, unwillingly, on the bright pink bed.Of course, it was not his choice, just his height, that would land him in such an unfortunate spot. Raine and Kratos each had their own side to a bed (A/N: they're not sleeping together, they're just sitting there!).  
"And what if I told you I would if I had the map?" Genis brooded.  
"So you don't know where it is!" Lloyd accused brutally.  
"Shut up or I'll-" Genis threatened, only to find a hand flying at his face and then-  
WHACK!  
"Oww, sis!" Genis wailed. "That hurt!"  
"It's going to hurt more if you don't get ready to go to sleep. You're twelve years old, Genis, you're supposed to sleep," Raine said curtly. "Or else if you don't and we run into some monsters tomorrow, you're on your own."  
"Kratos can heal me!"  
"DO YOU HEAR ME?" Raine bellowed at the bunch. Immediately, Lloyd and Genis hit the bunks like bullets against a shooting target. And almost immediately, false snoring filled the air."And you'd better stop the snoring!"  
The fake snoring ceased, and Colette said good night.  
"Finally," Kratos sighed, once thethree party membershad finally fallen asleep. "Do you know where Balacruf Masoleum is?" His eyes gave the slightest twinke.  
"Of course I do," Raine said airily, tucking a pack of apple gels into her bag."What, you don't know the way either?" She teased.  
"Yes, I was just wondering," he said quickly. A little too quickly, he thought to himself.  
There was a brief moment of silence and-  
"Aren't you going to go to sleep yet?" Raine asked timidly. "You are the most important fighter." Of course, neither knew Lloyd would one day overcome his father...yet.  
"No, I don't sleep much." Kratosresumed cleaning his sword.  
"Oh..." Raine looked around the room. "Aren't there any spare blankets?"  
"Colette went to themanagement earlier. They're all out. Apparently, they've lent themall out to the House of Salvation by Iselia."  
"But...but...," Raine blushed.  
The seraphim looked around and saw the source of her embarrassment.The drawers had been searched, all the blankets distributed (each party member had one, except Genis, so Raine let her little brother have her's).  
"This is unexpected," the angel flushed for a moment. "Perhaps I'll stay up tonight."  
"..."  
"What?" asked Kratos, seeing the slightly disappointed expression the healer wore. "You're not thinking..."  
"Huh? Oh! No! No, no no no no!" Raine blushed a brighter red. "I wasn't thinking we were going to share a bed! Surely you need your sleep; I'll stay up tonight."  
Kratos eyed her slyly. He knew that wasn't all that was going through her head. Her expression, for a moment, had been almost fox-like, entranced in a vision he dare not want to see...  
Or did he?  
He was so desperately confused. Of course, being the two "parents" of the group, they had an unspoken bond between them, never mentioned, never shown. But they had felt it; the way they could trust their life on the other, with their desicions. He had felt the connection he had not felt for fourteen years, and yet, part of him denied it. He felt compelled to be with Anna. While his heart said Raine was the one, his mind told him she was not.  
"Kratos?" A silver-haired healer came back into focus of his brown eyes.  
"Huh...wha?" the magic swordsman said sleepily. "Oh...it's just you..."Raine decided not to tell him about the funny expressions he had. When he moved his lips soundlessly, did a double-take of Raine, and then shrugged and smile slightly, all in a matter of moments.After a few minutes of silence, Kratos turned around and noticed that the half-elf had fallen asleep.  
It was then that he realized how sleepy he had gotten, too.  
And soon enough, both were lying on opposite sides of the bed, sound asleep. _

Kratos blinked back tears. That memory was particularly hurtful, since it bore such a bonding between them. That night, he realized their unspoken love for each other. Of course, he had never told her that, to her face. He had practiced it once in front of the mirror. Twice. Or three times. But in the back of his head, there was always the guilt for Anna. Lately, the guilt ebbed away, so there was little consciousness to the matter. All he cared about right now was Raine. He would sort out his feelings later.  
The Seraphim recounted the ways to destroy the "Magic Mirror".  
First, he tried burning the book in an ordinary fire. The result was failure.  
Then, Genis tried to destroy the book with magic. Failure.  
Then he tried to slash the book up. Failure.  
Brute strength was not the answer, he told himself. _Is _there an answer?

He looked up to find himself on the outskirts of Ozette. Thinking quickly, he thought that he had probably flew absentmindedly to the little woodlands, lost in his thoughts. The angel shrugged and entered the city.

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**To my wonderful reviewers...**

**Hamano Ayumi- lol I hope you will like the alternate conclusion...It will come soon, and I'll put it up very very soon. It will be a very sad ending...but the alternate will be a happy ending. heheheheh...nuff said.**

**Scarlet Kratos: eheheh, thanks. You're Raine's tears? Are you also Raine's Tears? SWEET! Heh, you updated Roadtrip Rampage (sort of). Now get the third chapter up!**

**RavenGhost- Thanks! I'm glad you liked it; I was almost sure everyone was gonna be mad I killed off Raine. Like really mad and hate my story. But I thought it would be a bittersweet ending, and I like sad endings and happy endings...so I have 2 happy endings, and I will have a sad ending for this one. I'm not sure about Forbidden or What is This Thing Called Love, yet. **

**ManaMage- Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter! And sorry it took so long to update!**

**Final Prayer- Yeah, I guess you're right. But I wanted it to be that way, because he didn't think it was fatal...And because he knew Raine was strong, I guess he thought she would recover? I mean, if the guy can beat up his son to please his boss, than I guess anything's possible, lol**

**MidnightEclipse713- I'm sorry...Uh...I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**Cathree- Maybe, stay tuned, lol and thanks for the review!**

**Karina Gomez- Thanks! You're one of the few who think that, I'm afraid, though, lol I meant to put in the flashbacks to kind of help with the sadness of the story. **

**A Fading Shadow- Sorry I made you think that was the last chapter. I lied, lol**

**Fire Dragons- Thanks! I love it when they're meant for each other! SQUEE! They are, lol Kraine forever!**

**Can't-Think-Of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do: Wow! What a long (and cool!) name! lol Puts mine to shame! I mean, Can't-Think-Of-A-Good-Name-So-This-Will-Do compared to Amazon Bunny? I mean, come on! Your's totally kicks mine's toosh. lol thanks for the review!**

**Elvyn-Light- heh well thank you! I'm still unsure of how the book will be destroyed, and deciding on whether ornot it will be destroyed. Depends on my mood. When the book is not destroyed,im in a bad mood, and viceversa. lol well hope you enjoyed it!**

**HealingWind- Thanks!I hope you liked this chapter! Andglad you could review for all my stories, lol Or was it you? (confused)**

**

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**

Amazon Bunny: Oi! Finished with this chapter! WHOO!

Zelos: Whew, for a moment, I thought you were gonna kill us all.You're worse thanViolent DemonicBanshee!

Sheena: ZELOS! THIS IS NOT THE TIME!

Zelos: Alright, alright, my voluptuous hunny bunny-kins...

Amazon Bunny: ...Bunny...kins...(eyes flare) NO ONE DEFILES MY NAME!

Sheena: HUNNY BUNNY-KINS!

Zelos: Eep!

Amazon Bunny: Stay tuned, and review!


	9. Coffee Dreams

Broken Valentine

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Amazon Bunny: Whoot! Chapter Niiiine! 

Raine: You ARE going to ressurect me, aren't you?

Kratos: That is the intention...'snogs'

Raine: XD

Amazon Bunny: You'll see what happens, anyway...

DISCLAIMER: Amazon Bunny doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any of its characters. Otherwise, she wouldn't be writing this story.

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Kratos stood wearily outside Ozette. It was a rather foggy night, and the musty smell was getting to him. The Seraphim wandered into the local coffee shop, looking for something that would ease his headache.  
Picking a random booth, he slid in and rubbed his throbbing temples. Damn it, he thought. Just a great time to have a headache.  
"Excuse me, sir, but are you ready to order?" A waitress in a rather skimpy skirt asked, tapping her foot impatiently.  
"Oh...No...I mean, yes, yes...Just a coffee, please. Black coffee," Kratos said quietly, clenching and unclenching his fists. He really needed some asprin right about now.  
"That'll be 20 gald, please," the waitress handed him the reciept.  
The angel paid the fee, desperate for the woman to leave and bring his drink.Shooting a glance at the grandfather clock in the corner, he noticed the time read 12:17. It was already this early in the morning...Grandfather clocks. Those were the kind Raine had in her home. In fact...  
"Here's your coffee, sir," the waitress brought his steaming drink. "Say...Do I know you?"  
Oh, but of course.  
That waitress was the girl whom he'd ask for Sacred Wood.  
"No," Kratos said curtly. "I don't think so." The last thing he needed was for crazy girls to smarm up to him.  
"Oh, but I recognize you!" The girl said gleefully. "You're Kratos! Remember me? You asked me where to find Sacred Wood."  
"If you don't leave me alone, I'll ask you where to find your manager."  
The girl pouted. "Fine, fine. Enjoy your coffee, sir." She pranced off, throwing what she thought was 'stunningly beautiful' glances over her shoulder and giggling. 

Kratos stared at his cup of coffee. Black coffee, just the way she would make it. He remembered...  
_It was a perfect morning. Kratos and Lloyd had finished un-setting camp, and Genis was making breakfast. Sweet aromas of pancakes, sausages, and eggs mingled together in the fresh morning air. Colette was finishing cleaning her scrape, when she tripped out of her sleeping bag that morning. Raine, over by the river, was getting water for coffee, the only food she could make fairly well.  
"Fairly well" was an understatement. Her coffee was amazingly good.  
And it just so happened that Kratos loved coffee.  
The healer pulled out a pouch of ground coffee beans and measured a fair sized amount.  
The traitor could only stand and gaze in awe. Her every move seemed so graceful, so beautiful...  
"Kratos!" Lloyd snapped his fingers in front of the auburn haired man's face. "Kratos, are you just going to stand there, mouth agape, or are you going to eat breakfast?"  
He felt the color rise in his face, and everyone was staring at him. Raine poured a cup of the dark liquid and handed it to Kratos. Spearing a sausage on his fork, he glared at it, and took a bite. It never occured to him that he sat close enough that his leg was up against her's. And it never occured to him that they sat together, away from the other three.Normally, he would have sat far away, perhaps on a fallen log, and ate his breakfast in solitude.  
But today would be a special day...  
He took a sip of his coffee. The bittersweet taste rolled over his tongue, seemed to soothe his wandering thoughts. He stared absently, lost in thought, sipping coffee. Black coffee, her specialty.  
"Are you alright, Kratos?" Raine asked softly. "You seem...angry."  
He sipped his coffee thoughtfully. "No," he replied. "I'm...Fine."  
"Would you like another cup?" The half-elven woman offered, holding up the coffeepot.  
Kratos noticed that he had drank the entire cup. "Very well, then."  
"Good, huh," Raine said happily, pouring him another cup. "It's probably the only thing I can make well other than tea."  
"No, I'm sure you can cook other things well," Kratos lied.  
"Well, thanks, but..."  
"How do you make this?" Kratos gestured to the coffee.  
"Oh...Well, it's quite simple, actually. You use a half cup of ground coffee for each pot. The water must be spring water, or else it wouldn't be right. The secret is in the water," she said simply. "For black coffee, anyway. For the kids, I usually add a spoonful of sugar and a spoonful of cream."  
"Well, I'll have to try this out later," he said, a smile at the corner of his mouth. As he drank his third cup, he realized that he would have the worst coffee breath that day_...

Hesitantly, Kratos raised the cup of coffee to his lips. He drained it with one gulp, something he never did before. The hot coffee singed his tongue and burned his throat. Raine's coffee never did that. Her coffee was always pleasantly warm; hot, but not too hot; bitter, but sweet.  
This coffee was just plain scalding and bitter.  
It was nothing -nothing-on the scale of Raine's coffee.  
He ordered another cup and drained it like the last. And then another. And another. And another. He wanted, no, he _needed _the coffee._  
_As he lifted the sixth cup to his lips, the manager himself came to see what was causing this fascination up at the counter.  
"Sir, how many cups have you drank?" He said sternly, peering over his oversized spectacles.  
"Only five," Kratos responded, drinking his sixth cup.  
"Sir, do you know that that much coffee in a sitting is hazardous, if not, fatal?"  
"She used to make coffee."  
The manager gave Kratos an incredulous look, and went back to the counter. "Noone here is to give this man anything to eat or drink, or you're fired." Hesaid bossily. "Ozette's tourism is very poor this season. Ifthis shop suffers a customer death by...too much coffee...then surely this shop will lose popularity and we will beforced to close. Understood?"  
The co-workers nodded numbly. The waitress shot a frightened look at Kratos, just as he finished his sixth cup.

The Seraphim could not get his coffee in any other way. He tried to order more, but nobody would give him any. So he left. Grudgingly, angrily, disappointed, lost in memories- but he left, desperate to seek solace to this pain. To add on to his mental frustration, there was a tight, uncomfortable feeling in his gut. No, he did not have to visit the toilet yet- it was different. He wandered the quiet, empty village, the sun was to rise in a few hours.  
The pain in his chest was ripping him apart. He had lost Anna first, because he had no choice. Now he had lost Raine, but he had a choice. He could have saved her, he told himself. He had a choice, he could have looked for a cure, he could have done a billion different things to save Raine. But he didn't.  
Suddenly, pain exploded in his chest.  
A whimper tore from his parted lips, and a low moan escaped.

"Welcome to the Church of Martel!" The Pastor greeted. "What ails you, my friend?"  
That would have been the common greeting whenever someone entered the Church of Martel. At this time of day, the pastors and priestesses had gone home, getting a good night's sleep for the coming day.  
Kratos fell to his knees in front of the Statue of Martel and the Great Seed. In front of the heavenly statue, lay an open casket. Raine's casket, to be specific.  
"In all 4000 years of my life,it's strange that I've never made a confession before," Kratos said with a dry laugh, one hand clinging onto the casket, one hand nursing the wound on his chest. In his carelessness, he had been targeted by thugs; stabbed, robbed, and left for dead on the side of the road. With what little strength left in his body, he used his angel wings to fly himself to Martel Cathedral, a new structure right outside Heimdall and the Ymir Forest, where Raine's body lie. She had not been permitted to be buried in her birth place, because of her race.  
"All I wanted to do was live a happy life. And then be reunited with all my friends and loved ones in death. It seems...It seems I will not be able to. I have done too much wrong." Tears welled in his eyes. He drew a long, painful breath. "I was born into a wealthy family; my father was a Knight, my mother a Lady-In-Waiting for the Queen. I had everything I wanted then, except for the love I wanted from my parents, from everyone. I was shunned because of the rumor that my father was not my real father. Back then, it was a sin, a crime. It still is, but the prejudice has lifted some. I finally found friends. I had grown, into a man, and I met a boy named Mithos, and his sister, Martel, from Heimdall. They, too, lived a life like mine. Rejected, shunned. Only their reason was because they were half elves. I told myself, what difference did it make? I was just like them. We were outcasts, rejects. Mithos wanted to learn swordsmanship. And I taught him. Martel's fiance, Yuan, had later been chased out of Heimdall too, and we became friends.  
"During this time, the continents of Sylvarant and Tethe'alla began to war. We tried to stop this, so Mithos split the world in two with the Eternal Sword. The Peace Treaty was signed in Derris Kharlan. And then...Mithos...did the unthinkable. He was tired of the prejudice against half-elves, and it finally pushed over the edge when Martel was killed.  
"I thought the best way was to follow Mithos for a long time. We even found a way tobecome literally immortal.Until I was sent to Asgard Ranch, to survey the work, and met Anna, my thoughts changed. Anna was a part of the Angelus Project. She was beautiful. And she understood me. Little by little, I fell in love. One day, it was raining. I had been testing a new security system, and found a fault; every time someone would reprogram the system, the Gates would open for a minute or two, and then swing shut. The detectors would shut off momentarily, as well. So I found a way to smuggle Anna out. I had a Desian send her to me, telling him it was important, and then I killed him. I took Anna and escaped. We fled to Hima. And then to Luin. And then Asgard. We hid in Balacruf Masoleum and when Lloyd was born, we hid again in Asgard. We were finally caught in my late Grandparents' home, in the mountains of Hima. Anna was sent to Iselia Human Ranch, and when I led her escape again. We were caught this time. Anna's Ex-Sphere was removed and she became...a monster. I...I killed her. Lloyd fell down a cliff, where there were monsters, and Desians, and I thought the chance for happiness was over."  
Kratos ran a tongue over his dry lips and drew in a short, haggard breath. His hand trembled on the casket, and his knuckles were white. His skin had become clammy and cold, his eyes with more life than ever before.  
"I became a mercenary. I thought the best way to take out my anger was to kill. I took my anger out by killing anything, ripping things to shreds, destroying things. Until I realized Lloyd, my son, was still alive. Things took a better turn. And then, I met Raine. She...was different from Anna. Anna was gentle, mild, graceful and taller. She gained a little weight when she became pregnant with Lloyd, and remained that way until her death. Raine, well, Raine was outgoing, cunning, and brilliantly smart. She was shorter than Anna, more petite. When I spent time with Raine, I thought my chance for happiness was rekindled, everything would be right again.  
"And then I went and ruined it. Ruined it! I should have searched for a cure, I should have known! I just merely sat about, thinking that Raine was strong, Raine would overcome. But I guess I was wrong again."  
Blood had pooled around him, and he knew his time was short. His breath was short and raggedy, in short, sharp gasps. He reached in the casket and held Raine's stiff, cold hand. Staring up at the statue, he screamed, "I can't die now! I have to save Raine."

And he let out his last breath.

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**To my reviewers:  
Miss Raine Sage: The first to review deserves my first response! Thanks for the comment! Uh, this chapter might be reaaaally sad, but I kinda warned y'all. Don't worry, I will make an alternate ending. And no, this is not the last chapter (without the alternate ending). There is the Epilougue. Haha!**

**RavenGhost: Thanks! I hope you liked this chapter. I know, angsty angsty angsty and sad, but like I said, I will make an alternate ending.**

**Midnight Eclipse713: Thank you! I won't give any spoilers whether Raine and Kratos will live after this, but you'll just have to read on, lol **

**Scarlet Kratos: Homework is the epitome of EVIL! Every Villian Is Lemons (SpongeBob, haha), and Homework is the President! Enjoy the chapter, lol**

**ShimaGenki: heheh, I updated...Thanks for the review! Make more stories of your own soon! I can't wait to read em!**

**Hamano Ayumi: Ooh COOOOOL! At my school, I have lots of Foreign Exchange students...O.o We have an Italian kid, Russian kid, French kid, etc etc etc! Yay! You updated "Guardian"! Wah! Loved it!**

**adri66215: You'll see who destroys the book, etc etc etc or if it will be destroyed at all! lol thanks for the comment!**

**Elvyn-Light: Nifeliem is easy to destroy; whenever the scene is blue, you have to find the exit. Whenever the scene is red, you have to kill all the monsters. Reccommended level is 120 for easy defeat. Just make sure to keep above the 200 Soulfire thing. Thanks for the review!**

**deathscall: uh sure, lol Zelos is cool though (pouts)Nice Kratos costume, anyway! Thanks for the review!**

**cutie1004: awww, I know, I was feeling sort of mad when I wrote the chapter. Listening to sad song while writing this chapter, lol**

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Amazon Bunny: Finished! This seems rushed, though...(stares) I apologize! I did this all in one day, heheh! 

Lloyd: Dad...(shocked) (dramatic scene and stabs self to death)

Colette: Lloyd...Lloyd, Lloyd! (drinks poison)

Amazon Bunny: Everyone's just dying today, aren't they? XP Reminds me of Cleopatra and Marc Antony...Or Romeo and Juliet. Muahahahaha!

Zelos: (walks in) Oh my G-

Sheena: EEP!

Amazon Bunny: I didn't do nuthin.

Zelos and Sheena: YES YOU DID! YOU MURDERER! YOU INSANE MURDERER!

Amazon Bunny: AhHhHhHhHhHh! ReAd AnD rEvIeW!


	10. Broken Valentine: Finale

Broken Valentine

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Amazon Bunny: You have reached the really really real last chapter. Now, I must warn you, this is a really really sad chapter. Though you probably know that by now. 

Genis: The only thing after this chapter is the Alternate Chapters for Chapter 9 and 10!

Colette: This is pretty much the wrap-up of the entire story. Be prepared to cry...(cries)

Amazon Bunny: (nods) Well, right after this, I need to know how to destroy the book in a different way.

Lloyd: I can't believe you killed my dad, you stupid, loser-!

Amazon Bunny: (pouts) Well, enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Tales of Symphonia!

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_Previously... _

Blood had pooled around him, and he knew his time was short. His breath was short and raggedy, in short, sharp gasps. He reached in the casket and held Raine's stiff, cold hand. Staring up at the statue, he screamed, "I can't die now! I have to save Raine."

And he let out his last breath.

* * *

"I can't...believe it," Lloyd said hoarsely. "He can't be...he can't be...gone."  
The sight of his father collapsed, face pallid and drawn, in front of the casket of his teacher was just too much. The twin swordsman, the invincible Lloyd, broke down.  
"Why does this have to happen?" He wailed. "Why? Why? WHY?" His fists rained upon the ground, pounding harder and harder and harder...  
"Lloyd," Colette whispered, holding his red hand. "Lloyd, I'm sorry. But this...intense sadness...I'm sorry, Lloyd."  
Tears spilled down his cheeks, a racking sob shook his body.  
"What are we going to tell everyone else?" He said softly, his hands in the dried, vermillion blood of his own kin. 

_"The curse has been fufilled," a raspy voice said shrewdly. "The prophecies of Freya, Faithe, and Troy have been fufilled."  
"'When the chosen ones have fallen, the prophecy fufilled, the Magic Mirror will cease to exist on this world..'," anotherlow voice whispered.  
"And yet..." the first voice said quietly. "We have not quite finished our duty."  
"The bodies of Freya and Troy must be laid to rest," a third, more smooth voice said gently. "Alas, there was one flaw with our tale. Faithe...Or in this case...Anna... Will have lost this battle to this 'Raine' girl. Troy will have belonged to Freya!"  
"That...we do not know," the second voice pitched in, growled the sentence. "This world is different from ours. We passed our story to this world,tosave ours. There is nothing we can do now but wait to see them in theOther World."_

Thedeath of Kratos wasthe final, devastating blow to the conciousness of the group.  
Shocked, at how strong, yet fragile, the human life is; like a spider web,strong enough for the spider to live, and fragile enough to be broken with a mere touch.  
All attended the funeral, a grave, private affair. Colette, Lloyd, Sheena, Zelos, Genis, Presea, Regal, Chocolat, Yuan (by projectile), and the survivors of the Iselian fire, all attended this. Many tears were shed, wails filled the air, and the two were laid to rest under the Great Tree of Ygdrassiall.

**Two years later...  
**"It hardly seems real," said Colette, a gentle wind ruffling her golden hair. She stood, facing the grave of her teacher and the mercenary that had protected her during her perilous journey. "It doesn't...really seem like they've been gone for two years."  
"Yeah," Lloyd said, taking her hand. "I just wish they could've been at our wedding."  
"Mommy, Daddy! Look, look!" A small, young little brunette ran up to the parents, a flower in her hands. Her blue eyes shone with excitement. "Flower! Big, pretty."She held up a large, white narcissus blossom. "So many, so many." She pointed around the tree, the parents looked, and could only gaze in awe of the mass of white.  
In front of them was a sea of narcissus flowers.  
"When...when were there so many flowers?" Lloyd said, staring. He took his little girl's hand.  
"I don't know. It all happened so quickly, it's all unreal!" Colette repeated, hushing the bouncing little girl.  
Just then, a breeze shook the trees, and the leaves swayed gently. A cold chill went down the Eternal Swordsman's spine.  
"What was it?" asked the angel.  
"Daddy, Daddy, are you okay?"  
Lloyd thought about it for a moment. Before his eyes, in the field of narcissus, stood a silver haired woman, blue eyes gazing, staring, and behind her walked an auburn haired man, clad in purple, a sword by his hip. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, and stood behind her, in the embrace. Lloyd shook his head, and the image disappeared.  
"Lloyd...?"  
"Da..da?" The little girl cooed.  
Lloyd smiled, and ruffled the hair of his girl. "It's nothing."  
"Well, shall we get going?" Colette asked, laying a boquet of roses on the graves. "Grace wants her lunch."  
"Yeah, I'll catch up to you in a second. Just want to talk to Dad and Raine for a little bit longer."  
"O..Okay then," the blonde angel said. "We'll be over by the Rheiards." And so, she and the child walked away, into the bright sunlight.  
Lloyd watched them go. "Well, Dad...Raine," He stared up into the trees, and the blue sky peeped through the leaves. "It's been a heck of a ride, these past two years. I guess you're together now... On the other side of the mirror."

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**To my reviewers...**

**Adri66125: Hmm, well I don't really know what's up with my computer. I'm sorry you had problems with the review thing, but I think this'll let you review properly now. Thanks so much for the review. **

**SleepyGuy: I don't...hate...Anna, just dislike. I know she's a very important character, and I understand that without her, wewouldn't really have a story going. There are lots of KratosRaine hinting in the game on my part, I think it just depends on the person's POV. There are some that say that Kratos and Raine are the fantastic couple, and then some that say they just won't work. Of course, Kratos would seem to have some...confusion, if you will, with this whole situation, as Anna was his first love, and Raine his second, and he would probably feel guilty, and still having feelings for Anna, and yet have feelings for Raine. That way, he could be "split-personality"ed. I have no desire to send a threat-letter, I don't take that review at all like a flame, more as a guide to my future stories. Instead, I would like to thank you for the review. **

**Cathree: EEK EEK! ty for the review if it wasn't for sex tentacles. lmao**

**HealingWind: Yup, the alternate ending would make everything peeeeeeerfect!**

**GyppyGirl2021: Yes, yes it is. Well, I hope you liked this chapter, I worked hard on it! Even though I spent only a couple hours on it. Enjoy, haha**

**Shugo-San 777: I will make the alternate ending someday, no worries, lol Keep in mind, I am very busy this year, with high-school and all. Maybe I'll have it updated sometime in November, if not, sometime before 2005 is over.

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**

Amazon Bunny: Finally! Finished with BROKEN VALENTINE!

Zelos: Well, not quite. You have the alternate ending.

Sheena: Yeah, make the alternate ending, you know we all love happy endings!

Amazon Bunny: Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it eventually. In the meantime, leave me lots of comments! I want 95 reviews by the time I update, mmmkay?


	11. Broken Valentine: Alternate Ending

Broken Valentine  
Alternate Ending

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Amazon Bunny: Here it is! Alternate ending to Broken Valentine! 

Kratos: So we actually live now?

Amazon Bunny: Yes, you do. Aren't you happy?

Raine: Of course! (jumps in Kratos' arms and they go running out of the door)

* * *

Birds chirped overhead. A light wind rustled the leaves of the giant oak tree. 

It was bright...

Brown eyes opened wearily, a stinging pain in his stomach. Where in the world was he? he wondered. And more importantly...Where was Raine?  
A strangled sound escaped his throat, scratchy and hoarse from disuse.The Seraphim sat up, ignoring the burning, intense pain in his abdomen. Bandages were wrapped firmly around his torso, red stains here and there. He looked around for his pack. Surely there would be some herbs or gels to use?  
The door opened and an orderly came in. "Oh, you're awake, Mr. Aurion?" she said, opening the blinds. He squinted, shielding his eyes against the brightness. "You've been out for quite a long time. You know, you're very lucky to have been found by the Priest. He came in early to bless the body of a deceased woman, and found you collapsed. Just in time, I'd say! Gave the doctors quite a scare."  
"What about the woman?" Kratos asked, his chest aching with anticipation, stomach burning with pain.  
"The body's blessed, she's going to be cremated, her ashes thrown into the sea around the Otherworldly Gate," the orderly sighed. "Such a pretty girl."  
"When?" Kratos demanded, not liking the turn of events. "When is this going to happen?"  
"Well, the family...the brother, actually, called it off. It was supposed to be today, but it's going to be held off until next week." The orderly watered the potted plant and pulled out a brown package.  
"When do I get out of this place?"  
"Not for a while, I suppose,"she said. "Now, I have to inject you with some anesthesia. I have to examine that stomach of yours and apply some medicine." She pulled out a rather painful looking needle. "This won't hurt a bit. Just close your eyes." She stepped out from thesunlight, and Kratos noticed she had long, dark curly hair and rather doe-like green eyes.  
"I don't want to be here for a long time," Kratos protested, refusing to shut his eyes.  
"Well, not many people do," said the orderly. She poked the needle in his arm, and the angel began to lose conciousness.

_God damn anesthesia...  
_Kratos opened his eyes. It was nighttime, judging by the fact all was still, the curtains were drawn, and it was dark. His sides was swathed with bandages, the pain barely a whisper. Beside him, on the nightstand, a package of apple gels.  
_Careless,_ he thought. _That nurse must have left it here earlier by mistake. _  
But did he care? If it was useful, he was going to make use of it. He reached for the little pack, ripped it open, and opened his bandages carefully. The rush of cold air stung his sides, and he quickly broke open the gel and rubbed the liquid medicine on the wound. For a moment, the pain ebbed, crouching, ready to attack when the medicine worked in. But Kratos, being the expirienced mercenary he was, broke open apple gel after apple gel, healing his wound quicker than the pain could attack.  
Slowly, but surely, the wound closed up, a mere, faint scar upon his abdomen.  
_Good_, he thought. _Now to get out of this place..._  
The window, curtains drawn, would be the perfect escape.  
Of course, it was the classic. Kratos lifted the window stealthily, hoisted himself up, and out of the window.  
The cold rush of the night air felt pleasing against his skin, and as his angelic wings lifted him up the ground, he heard the door behind him open loudly, the doctors demanding where he had gone.  
"Where did he go?" The doctor demanded. "Dammit, the window's open!"  
A clamour of footsteps. Several faces peered out, their expressions changing from furious to appalled faster than the stoplights.  
Kratos grinned. "See you."  
And he took off, in a flurry of feathers, into the night sky.

"_He's alive," the voice rasped. "He's alive, he's alive, he's alive! Alas, the fate of the Chosen Ones have not been fufilled."  
"This is unacceptable," the second voice screamed. "Without this...We fail..."  
"...To exist," a third voice said softly. "We cannot use their souls to fuel our pathetic form of existance."  
"We have but two souls," the second voice said, terrified. "The souls of the two women. However, we are about to lose what precious little we have, for he will bring one back."  
"The tale will not be completed, we will disappear," the third said quietly. "And the soul left bodiless will return to its kingdom in the sky."  
"Why?" the second voice cried. "We only wanted a human body. We were so close."  
"It is in his will to live," the first voice said finally. "We were already dead. It was wrong to try to take what was not ours. When she is ressurected, we will all go to hell, to spend the rest of eternity there."  
The voices cried out, diminishing, until there was nothing._

The day of the funeral was coming to quickly. He had six days to work.  
Needless to say, the group was overjoyed that Kratos had made such a speedy recovery.Kratos did not tell them about the Ressurection plot. He would do this himself, hesaid secretly, to Noishe.He would not risk the lives of his companions again.  
He had some of the nessassary materials for the spell "Ressurection". The unicorn horn, Boltzman's Book. However, the spell was useful for reviving the unconcious, not the dead. Something else would be needed. Something that was already immortal.  
He journeyed to the Storyteller in Latheon Gorge. The storyteller told him that the spell was not to be tried- it would end disasterous. There had been no successive attempts.To bring back the dead was a near always-fatal occurence, and it was a Dark Art, forbidden.Even if the first was successful, the second for sure would have ended in death. But Kratos persisted.  
At last, theStoryteller told him the Dark Art. One unicorn horn was required, the blood of the ressurector, and something immortal. When Kratos asked what that something was, the storyteller told him "something you already have".  
Of course, Kratos had no idea what that meant at first.  
What was it that made him the symbol of life and death, just like the unicorn? What was it that had so much healing power?  
Then, it hit him.  
Angel wings.  
Angels were immortal, right? Human, and not. The symbol of life and death, a direct connection to heaven to bring the soul to the body.  
Plucking feathers was extremely painful. It was like pulling out his limbs.And they would not grow back.  
But Kratos plucked them anyway, until all his feathers were gone,the remnants of his wings strewn across the ground.  
He collected the feathers, and entered the church. Laying them in the coffin, around Raine. He took the unicorn horn, and placed it in her cold, stiff hands. He then took a small blade and punctured his wrist. Blood dripped down, coating the feathers, dotting Raine.  
Looking up into thestainedglass window, he shouted:  
"εγώ! προσφοράς ένα κέρατο του μονοκέρου, του αίματος του ένας που θα το φέρει πίσω, και των φτερών αγγέλου. Επαναφέρετε τι χάθηκε!"

("Lo! I bring you the horn of a unicorn, blood of the ressurector, and the wings of an angel. Bring back what was lost!")

There was a blinding flash. The angel feathers in the coffin began to glow with a strange, white light, the blood turned gold, and the unicorn horn turned pale blue. All shimmered, blinding the Seraph. The markings of the Broken Valentine curse shone for the final time upon Raine's pale flesh, and pulsed. Then, it shriveled, racing toward the origin, on the neck. The Broken Heart gave a small tremor, and dissolved. The hourglass behind it shattered.  
Swirls of light descended from the heavens, seemed to engulf Raine's body.  
When the magical moment was over, Raine lay very still in the coffin, the feathers, blood, and horn all gone. It seemed it had failed. Kratos breathed heavily, exhausted.  
Silver lashes fluttered.  
The small figure rose, swung her legs out from the coffin, and landed lightly on the ground.  
She smiled.  
He smiled back.  
"Welcome back," he said.

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_Epilogue:_

Much of the written records have been lost. What we do know is that since the Iselia fire, the town never quite recovered. Raine, Kratos, and Genis went to live in Ozette, where the prejudice against half-elves had lessened considerably. Raine and Kratos never married, nor had children. Genis and Presea married at the age of 23, and had 4 children. Lloyd and Colette married several years following Raine's ressurection, and had 8 children. Zelos and Sheena also married, having one child.  
As for the "Magic Mirror", it seemed to have disappeared shortly after Raine's rising, and never returned.

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FIN...

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Amazon Bunny: Well! That's all, folks! Thank you for reading through "Broken Valentine" up till now! Don't quite feel like putting in review thanks this chapter. Be good and give me 100 reviews at least, mmmkay? Stay tuned, there is a sequel, called "PATHWAY" that's being worked on right now.  
This chapter was very very very rushed, and Iapologize. I wanted to get this finished asap, because I don't think I have all that much time to do anything nowadays. Just one thing to getdone.Again, I apologize.  
For those who wondered what language that was above that Kratos used to bring Raine back, it was Greek. Yes, they didn't have Greekon Symphonia, but hey, whatever floats my boat, right?  
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

_Stay tuned for "Pathway",my Christmasstory, and the sequel to "BrokenValentine"!_


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